{"id":495625,"date":"2026-03-10T01:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T01:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/495625\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T01:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T01:10:16","slug":"why-nemecs-devils-future-more-uncertain-after-nhl-trade-deadline-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/495625\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Nemec’s Devils Future More Uncertain After NHL Trade Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline passed and Simon Nemec is still a member of the New Jersey Devils<\/a>. However, his future with the Red & Black has never been more uncertain.<\/p>\n

The Devils were open to moving Nemec for a clear upgrade at forward by Friday\u2019s 3 P.M. deadline. They weren\u2019t looking to dump the 22-year-old defenseman for nothing, and certainly weren\u2019t trying to move him for an uncertainties.<\/p>\n

As for that pesky William Eklund<\/a> rumor, there\u2019s nothing to it.<\/p>\n

Yet, Nemec\u2019s days with the Devils feels inevitablly numbered.<\/p>\n

Nemec thus far has had a strong 2025-26 season compared to 2024-25 when he played between the NHL and AHL clubs.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s established himself as one of New Jersey\u2019s clutchest performers, scoring a handful of meaningful goals to help the Devils win pivotal games this seaosn. He\u2019s still developing his game away from the puck, but with the rubber on his tape, Nemec is showing he has the tools required of a top-pairing defenseman. <\/p>\n

And if his Devils sample size isn\u2019t convincing enough, Nemec\u2019s performance for Slovakia as their No.1 defenseman at the Olympics should be. He might have only registered two assists in six games<\/a> while in Milan. However, he proved himself as a two-way defenseman with compete, a puck transitioner, and distributor against top competition, while logging some of the most minutes for his country.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s clouding his future in New Jersey?<\/p>\n

Well, let\u2019s start with GM Tom Fitzgerald<\/a>\u2018s comments of the former second-overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

For whatever reason, whenever Nemec\u2019s name comes up with the Devils GM, his answers lack a certain emphatic tone.<\/p>\n

For example, here\u2019s Fitzgerald\u2019s response when asked if there\u2019s any urgency to get Nemec\u2014a pending restriced free agent\u2014locked down to an extension.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well, he needs a contract,\u201d Fitzgerald responded. \u201cYou know? He needs a contract. Where that goes? Again, that\u2019s part of my job, but it\u2019s not for today.\u201d<\/p>\n

That might seem like a standard response six months before the offseason when the Devils GM has more time to sort something like that out. <\/p>\n

However, here\u2019s Fitzgerald\u2019s response to the same exact question in the same exact press conference for an extension with Arseny Gritsyuk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do plan on that,\u201d Fitzgerald beamed. \u201cHe was an unknown. You didn\u2019t know what were gonna have [in him]. We talk about depth scoring, we didn\u2019t know what we were gonna have in him and when a player like that comes in, and we feel he can pop and he can still be better, you feel very lucky to do this. So, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fast forward to the post trade deadline press conference with the Devils GM, and Fitzgerald doubled down on his tone with respect to each player. <\/p>\n

Yeah, we\u2019ve talked to [Gritsyuk\u2019s] agent,\u201d Fitzgerald responded when asked if there\u2019s been progress on an extension for the Russian forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, he loves New Jersey. We own his rights. He\u2019s been a wonderful, wonderful\u2026 I don\u2019t want to say surprise, but he\u2019s been a joy to watch. He adds so much to our team. I\u2019m really looking forward to his development growth as he gets more comfortable with this league. But yes, absolutely, we see him long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, the tone is far different regarding a potential Nemec extension.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s something we\u2019ll go through when the season ends, and where his head is at,\u201d Fitzgerald explained. \u201cHow does he see his future with what we have here already? Where he fits. You know, does he like New Jersey? What\u2019s his thoughts? I\u2019ll go through that with his agent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald\u2019s comments do allude that perhaps it\u2019s Nemec who doesn\u2019t want to be here, as opposed to the Devils not wanting to retain him.<\/p>\n

Yet, with Gritsyuk, there\u2019s a clear emphasis on his long-term future in New Jersey. However, Nemec can\u2019t seem to retrieve an inkling of confidence from the GM who took him so high in the 2022 NHL Draft. <\/p>\n

Certainly, something reeks of discomfort in the relationship dynamic between the Devils and Nemec.<\/p>\n

Nemec is due a new contract on July 1st and is offer-sheet eligible.<\/p>\n

Whether another team swoops in and tries to steal the Slovak defenseman remains to be seen. However, a source tells New Jersey Hockey Now that the Nemec camp may start negotiations with Luke Hughes<\/a>\u2018 number on his new contract.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s noteworthy given Nemec switched agents recently and is now represented by Craig Oster of Newport Sports Management.<\/p>\n

Perhaps after the Devils pay Dougie Hamilton<\/a> his $7.4 million bonus this summer, he\u2019ll be an easier asset to move and New Jersey can keep both Luke and Nemec.<\/p>\n

However, it seems even in Fitzgerald\u2019s tone about Hamilton, the veteran blueliner is the favorable player despite the public comments made by his agent in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure what the misunderstanding was,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cWhen [Hamilton] was a healthy scratch, he wasn\u2019t playing well. He deserved to be scratched, and the story it\u2019s so and he\u2019s played great ever since, and I give him a lot of credit, he\u2019s playing up to his capabilities, and when he\u2019s doing that, he gives us a great chance of winning hockey games and being a strong part of it. I\u2019m just gonna keep answering the questions the same way, like we\u2019re going to evaluate everything once the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 18 games to go in the 2025-26 season. It\u2019s more than likely that the Devils pack it in early and end their season by the midway point of April.<\/p>\n

After that, the Nemec watch begins. It could very well be the beginning of the end for him in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seven NHL everyday players on our back end,\u201d Fitzgerald said. \u201cTrying to shake one of those loose here in the offseason will be my goal, maybe to give us some help up front. Maybe a top-six winger or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"avatar\"<\/p>\n

\t\tJames is a fully credentialed New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the … More about James Nichols<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NHL Trade Deadline passed and Simon Nemec is still a member of the New Jersey Devils.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495062,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[377],"tags":[201,3723,30385,5,151,1178,3502],"class_list":{"0":"post-495625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-devils","9":"tag-devils-news","10":"tag-devils-trade-rumors","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-new-jersey-devils","13":"tag-simon-nemec","14":"tag-tom-fitzgerald"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116202218310098776","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}