Arseny Gritsyuk’s first NHL season gave the Devils a real look at what they have, and it came with a little bit of everything: production, flashes of skill, and a late injury that cut things short. Now the question is how that debut translates as New Jersey heads into 2026-27.
Gritsyuk played 66 games in 2025-26 and finished with 31 points, piling up 13 goals and 18 assists. His season ended in March because of a season-ending upper-body injury that required surgery and time away from the ice to recover.
He was in the Devils’ lineup right from the start, making his NHL debut in the season opener on Oct. 9, 2025.
He logged 16 shifts and 9:52 of ice time in that game. Two nights later, he made an immediate impact again, setting up two goals in the Devils’ first win of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
His first NHL goal came on Oct. 22, and it was a power-play finish assisted by Timo Meier in the third period.
There were also stretches where Gritsyuk kept stacking points. He put together two separate three-game point streaks.
The first ran from Nov. 12 to Nov. 18, with an assist on Nov. 12, a goal on Nov. 15, and another assist on Nov. 18.
The second came from March 3 to March 7, when he scored on March 3, scored and added an assist on March 4, and then picked up another assist on March 7.
He also posted six multi-point games, which says plenty about the kind of offensive touch he brought as a rookie.
Because injuries hit the Devils hard last season, Gritsyuk moved around the lineup and saw time in both the top six and the bottom six. That shuffle gave him chances to skate with different linemates and pick up lessons from a variety of teammates.
For 2026-27, the expectation is that he settles into a more regular role in the bottom six. New Jersey added Anthony Mantha, Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and most recently Luke Evangelista to the forward group this offseason, and that gives the Devils more veteran options up top. With Evangelista and Mantha likely ticketed for the top six, Gritsyuk looks positioned for bottom-six duty.
That does not have to be a setback. It can be the kind of role that helps him sharpen his game and keep building.
There are also a few milestones within reach. Gritsyuk already has 66 NHL games, so he needs 34 more to reach 100. If he stays healthy, that should happen before the calendar flips to 2027.
The scoring milestones are further away. With 13 goals and 18 assists from his debut season, 100 in either category is not realistic right now. But a strong sophomore jump could put him on the doorstep of 100 total points, though that would require him to more than double his rookie production.
The projection here is straightforward: Gritsyuk tops 40 points in 2026-27. If not for the injury at the end of last season, he would have been close to 35 points already. There is real room for a breakout in his second NHL season, and he has a chance to show why the Devils signed him to a three-year extension that begins this year.
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