As we enter the homestretch of the 2025-26 season, the New Jersey Devils should start looking toward the future. The fact that they should be looking toward this instead of looking toward, you know, the rest of this season should tell you what a massive disappointment this campaign has been. The Devils are not technically eliminated from the playoff race yet, and they actually won\u2019t be for some time. But in practice, their season has been over for a while now, the result of terrible roster management, terrible coaching, and terrible performances up and down the lineup. There have been very few bright spots in New Jersey this season.<\/p>\n
One of those few bright spots, however, has been Cody Glass. In his first full season in New Jersey, Glass has slotted behind Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier to give the Devils the quality third-line center the franchise has sorely needed for years now. He has driven play, he has piled up the goals, he has continued to round out his game, and perhaps most impressively, he has guided two rookies in Arseny Gritsyuk and Lenni Hameenaho on a third line that has played way above expectations since they\u2019ve been matched together.<\/p>\n
Since Glass was signed to a two-year deal over the summer, that means that 2026-27 will be his final season under contract before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. This also means that, come July 1, the Devils can officially sign him to an extension. We\u2019ve talked on this site about Nico Hischier\u2019s big summer ahead<\/a>, but we haven\u2019t really discussed the other Devils center that becomes eligible for an extension in a few months. Which is understandable, Glass is certainly not the caliber of player that Hischier is, but at the very least he does deserve a conversation. Should New Jersey consider inking Glass long-term? What are the pros and cons to a potential extension? What would a new deal for Glass even look like? We\u2019ll try to tackle all of that today as we discuss whether the Devils should re-sign Glass this summer.<\/p>\n Glass\u2019 First Full Season In New Jersey<\/p>\n After appearing in a handful of games last season after Tom Fitzgerald traded for him at the deadline, Glass was re-signed to a two-year, $2.5m AAV deal. Initially Fitzgerald was planning on not giving him a Qualifying Offer, but apparently Fitzgerald underestimated Glass\u2019 market, and upon seeing how in demand he would be, he reversed course and slapped the QO on him to keep him under team control as an RFA. The two-year contract came together shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n In his first full campaign as a Devil, Glass has thrived in his role. According to Natural Stat Trick<\/a>, on a team that struggles to drive play to a strong degree, Glass has been a beacon of puck possession (all numbers 5-on-5):<\/p>\n Corsi For%53.00Scoring Chances For%51.62High Danger Corsi For%48.92Expected Goals For%50.76<\/p>\n Aside from a lackluster but not awful HDCF, Glass is in the black in every other category. Again, those numbers might not jump off the page, but you have to keep in mind that the Devils as a team have numbers worse than that across the board<\/a>. Glass is outperforming the rest of his teammates on average, so whenever he hops over the boards for a shift, the Devils are generally better off because of it.<\/p>\n If Natural Stat Trick isn\u2019t your cup of tea, Hockey Stat Cards<\/a> also has Glass as a strong player this season. His 0.9 overall Net Rating puts him in roughly the 70th percentile across the league (meaning he is better than 70 percent of players in the NHL). His defensive Net Rating particularly stands out, currently sitting in about the 79th percentile.<\/p>\n In addition to his play-driving prowess, Glass has also set a career high in goals this season with 15, eclipsing his previous high of 14 with Nashville in 2022-23. He won\u2019t be able to get to his career high in points (35, also in 2022-23), but his uptick in goal-scoring has been a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n I also mentioned his chemistry with Gritsyuk and Hameenaho. The numbers at NST back this up<\/a>. The trio has spent 83:43 together at 5-on-5 this season, and their numbers are truly impressive:<\/p>\n Corsi For%60.82Scoring Chances For%58.57High Danger Corsi For%56.52Expected Goals For%58.79<\/p>\n Those are sparkling results, and Glass deserves a ton of credit for them.<\/p>\n No matter how you look at it, Glass has been a significant bright spot in an otherwise dark Devils season. For $2.5m against the cap, he has provided incredible value. So now, of course, the question is whether to commit to him long term\u2026<\/p>\n First, let\u2019s add some context. The 2026 free agency center class is pretty thin<\/a>. There are a handful of names in here that intrigue me, such as Alex Kerfoot, Joe Veleno, and Jack Roslovic to name a few. But other than that it\u2019s either ancient legends who are either going to retire or return to their current teams, or middling centers who don\u2019t really move the needle much. Not that the Devils will be looking to replace Glass this offseason anyway, but it can\u2019t hurt to see what\u2019s out there in case the Devils want to make a move with the intention of keeping a free agent center and Glass on the roster together for a year, then have that free agent signing take Glass\u2019 place in two years.<\/p>\n As far as the 2027 class<\/a>, Glass\u2019 current cohort, things look much better. Nico Hischier is there of course. Sidney Crosby and Tyler Seguin are too, although neither of them are realistically coming to the Devils. When it comes to players who could theoretically slot into Glass\u2019 current role, there are certainly more options than this upcoming free agency class. William Karlsson, Drake Batherson, Pavel Zacha (I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m saying that), Pius Suter, and Nic Roy are just some of the names that interest me as potential 3C\u2019s for New Jersey if they let Glass walk. They will all certainly cost more than Glass, but then again Glass\u2019 market might explode by 2027 as well, which is why it\u2019s worth it to have the conversation now as to whether New Jersey should extend him this summer or not.<\/p>\n Predicting A Theoretical Glass Extension<\/p>\n