{"id":558916,"date":"2026-04-25T01:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T01:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/558916\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T01:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T01:00:18","slug":"3-big-questions-for-new-jersey-devils-in-2026-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/558916\/","title":{"rendered":"3 big questions for New Jersey Devils in 2026 offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New Jersey Devils (42-37-3)<\/a> tried to build off their Stanley Cup Playoff appearance in the 2024-25 season. With star talent such as Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt already on the roster, general manager Tom Fitzgerald didn\u2019t do much besides signing Edmonton Oilers middle-six center Connor Brown. <\/p>\n

The hope was that with the continued emergence of young talent, the Devils could compete for the Metropolitan Division lead.<\/p>\n

More: 3 burning questions for New York Rangers entering 2026 offseason<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, the Devils failed to make the playoffs due to a stacked Eastern Conference, a mid-season injury to Jack Hughes, and regression from several key players. <\/p>\n

They became stuck in no-man\u2019s land, resulting in the Devils firing Tom Fitzgerald. They\u2019ve already hired a replacement in Florida Panthers executive Sunny Mehta, but he\u2019ll have a pivotal offseason coming up to try to get the Devils back to playoff contention.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Sheldon Keefe\u2019s fate?<\/p>\n

\"NewNew Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe speaks to media at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Devils hired Sheldon Keefe in the 2024 offseason to improve their sluggish scoring outputs. In the 2024-25 season, it worked. Nico Hischier scored a career-high 35 goals, and Jesper Bratt had a career-high 88 points. Unfortunately, with Jack Hughes suffering a season-ending injury on March 2, 2025, that dashed the Devils\u2019 Stanley Cup ambitions.<\/p>\n

More: Senators\u2019 $64M star reacts to \u2018big loss\u2019 after Jake Sanderson injury<\/a><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the offense regressed in 2025-26. No one on the team notched over 30 goals, although Jack Hughes would\u2019ve definitely been on pace to reach it if he played a full 82 games. Guys like Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier regressed, and the youth didn\u2019t develop either.<\/p>\n

With Keefe\u2019s boss gone, does that mean he gets the axe too<\/a>? New general managers usually like going with their own bench boss, but if Mehta\u2019s goal is to retool the Devils back to playoff contention, I could see him keeping Keefe around.<\/p>\n

How do the Devils replace Jacob Markstrom?<\/p>\n

\"\"Apr 7, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom (25) takes a break during a stoppage in play against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Luther Schlaifer-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Devils also acquired Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in the 2024 offseason to signify that they were in win-now mode. They signed a two-year, $12 million extension that begins next season too.<\/p>\n

Markstrom performed well in his first year with the Devils, earning a .900 save percentage from the 2024-25 season. However, this season was a disaster in the net for him, falling to a .883 save percentage.<\/p>\n

More: Teams with best record in each pro sport<\/a><\/p>\n

Markstrom is 36 years old, so the worry is that he\u2019s lost a step due to age. Even then, his 35-year-old goaltender teammate Jake Allen is still performing well. He had a .903 save percentage last season. <\/p>\n

Do the Devils find a replacement before Markstrom\u2019s extension kicks in? They\u2019ve had 25-year-old Nico Daws waiting in the wings. He\u2019ll be a restricted free agent after this summer. They could also pivot to 2024 second-round pick Mikhail Yegorov when Markstrom\u2019s extension is done. <\/p>\n

Yegorov finished his second season at Boston University. Regardless, New Jersey will need to solve their goaltending quandary this offseason.<\/p>\n

How do the Devils go all-in?<\/p>\n

\"\"Jan 31, 2026; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) plays the puck against New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec (17) during the third period at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Devils are in win-now mode, despite what last season\u2019s record might suggest. They have the high-end talent in the forward core to compete with the best teams in the league, but they might need to go harder in that direction to achieve their true potential.<\/p>\n

That will come in making difficult decisions about their draft capital and prospect pool. I could see the Devils dangling their first-round pick, which is more than likely going to be in the teens. <\/p>\n

There are some appealing prospects they could have a shot at drafting, such as Viggo Bjorck, who is undersized but talented enough to go in the top seven. Still, they should definitely find a way to trade that pick.<\/p>\n

More: How to live stream Avalanche vs Kings: NHL Playoffs, TV channel<\/a><\/p>\n

Guys like defenseman Simon Nemec and winger Dawson Mercer shouldn\u2019t be unprotected either. Nemec, who\u2019s just 24 made some great strides offensively, recording 11 goals and 15 assists through 68 games. However, he still hasn\u2019t found his defensive game yet, and he\u2019d be tantalizing for any rebuilding team in need of young defenseman.<\/p>\n

Mercer, still just 24, already has plenty of NHL experience. He is a consistent 20-goal, 40-point forward who has never missed a game and grinds his tail off. However, he\u2019s plateaued since his sophomore season, where he scored 27 goals and notched 29 assists in 82 games. <\/p>\n

More: Pittsburgh Steelers fans interrupt ESPN NFL Draft broadcast with NSFW Flyers chant<\/a><\/p>\n

A package of Mercer, Nemec, and the Devils\u2019 first-rounder should be enough to net them another talented, young forward. Matthew Knies, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Kyrou are the names that stand out to me immediately.<\/p>\n

They could also look for a defenseman to headline their jumbled defense, especially with Dougie Hamilton potentially on the move. Vince Dunn of the Seattle Kraken would be an interesting trade target, depending on whether the Kraken embrace a full rebuild. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New Jersey Devils (42-37-3) tried to build off their Stanley Cup Playoff appearance in the 2024-25 season.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558917,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5109],"tags":[201,5,1272,576,151,5185,5184,4,8],"class_list":["post-558916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-jersey-devils","tag-devils","tag-hockey","tag-jack-hughes","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-newjersey","tag-newjerseydevils","tag-nhl","tag-stanley-cup-playoff"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116462644991450231","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558916","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=558916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}