New Jersey Devils GM Sunny Mehta likes what he has on the back end, and he expects it to look a lot better than it did a year ago.
In a conversation on the Devils Rink Report, the Devils general manager pushed back on the idea that the blue line needed a major overhaul.
Outside of the Simon Nemec trade, the group remains largely intact, with Declan Chisholm added to the mix.
“I like our blue line a lot,” Mehta said. “In addition to it necessarily being a model thing, I think also you have to keep in mind the injury stuff… Even just getting this group back fully healthy, Luke [Hughes] especially. Having the whole group healthy will be huge in terms of how we didn’t really see this group at full strength last year.”
Going into the summer, there were several questions about the defense. One of those questions was certainly Nemec and whether he was extending or being shipped.
By now you know the conclusion to that question.
Mehta addressed the Nemec trade directly, making clear it wasn’t a case of pushing the young defenseman out the door.
“I had a great conversation with Simon,” he said. “There were a bunch of different ways we could have gone with that. It wasn’t necessarily that we were looking to force him out of here or move him or anything. I just think at the end of the day, we couldn’t turn down the offer from Calgary. Calgary was aggressive about what they wanted to give. It was something we couldn’t turn down.”
The addition of Chisholm, meanwhile, was personal for Mehta.
“He’s actually a player that I long have had an affinity for. We tried to get him a few times when I was at the Panthers, unsuccessfully, obviously. He’s a player that I’ve liked for years. He’s mobile, he’s a great skater, he’s got hockey sense. He’s right in that age range that we’re kind of looking for… He’s got an element to him that’s really dynamic. So I’m pretty excited about him.”
Chisholm played a limited role in Washington last season, yet still managed a positive 53.3 goals-for percentage. However, the season before in Minnesota he showed a 51.1 percent expected goals share in 66 games. For a Devils group that Mehta believes simply wasn’t whole last season, adding another puck-moving piece with that profile fits the emphasis on balance.
As for the two cornerstone pieces, Mehta sounded especially optimistic about Luke Hughes entering a key stage of his development.
“He’s what, 23 years old? In that 22-24 year old range is where you see guys kind of hit that rising part of the age curve. I’m excited to see with his skating ability and everything. I’m excited to see him take the next steps.”
And on Dougie Hamilton, whose future in New Jersey had been a topic of speculation before Mehta arrived, the general manager was straightforward.
“It’s not just analytics, but I think at the end of the day… it’s about out-chancing and out-scoring other teams. Dougie helps us do that.”
The underlying numbers from 2025-26 support the idea that better health alone could move the needle. Hamilton, who played 77 games, posted a 51.3 percent expected goals share at five-on-five while ranking in the 84th percentile in impact among defensemen. His on-ice goal share sat at a tougher 45.9 percent, a gap that often closes when a player’s teammates and goaltending stabilize.
Luke Hughes, limited to 68 games, finished with a 49.0 percent expected goals share and a 78th-percentile impact rating. Those figures sat close to break-even despite the disruption around him. At 23 years old and already logging nearly 19 minutes a night, Hughes is entering the age range where many mobile, high-skill defensemen take a noticeable step forward—exactly the development curve Mehta pointed to.
Mehta closed by pointing to the overall balance on the back end.
“I think particularly the balance that we’ll have this year with a good kind of dispersion of defensive-leaning guys, puck-moving guys. I think I’m pretty excited about our back end.”
For a blue line that dealt with injuries and inconsistency last season, Mehta’s message was clear: health, continuity, and targeted additions should lead to a meaningful step forward.
James is a fully credentialed New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the … More about James Nichols