The Devils’ preseason setup points to a quiet PTO market in New Jersey.
Late August and early September usually bring a wave of professional tryouts around the NHL, with teams giving fringe players a shot to compete for jobs in camp. That has led to plenty of different outcomes over the years.
Some PTO players wash out and head back to free agency. Some catch on elsewhere, like Kevin Labanc did two years ago with the Devils.
Others do enough to earn a contract from the team that brought them in, the way Luke Glendening did just before 2025-26.
This year, though, New Jersey looks like a poor fit for that kind of move.
The league is moving back to an 84-game schedule beginning in 2026-27, and that has trimmed every team’s preseason to four games. For clubs with thin rosters, that may not change much. Around the league, plenty of PTOs have still been handed out.
But the Devils are not operating with thin roster room. They already have 16 forwards in the mix for a spot on the main roster - all 14 forwards who are making at least $1.5 million in 2026-27, plus Amadeus Lombardi and Lenni Hameenaho. On defense, there are eight blueliners expected to compete, including five left-handed defensemen, unless trades open up space and cap room.
That leaves little reason to bring in an outside tryout player and spend camp reps on him. With only four preseason games available, New Jersey has to use those chances carefully. The team needs to see what it already has, not hand away valuable minutes to someone on the outside.
That’s why names like Patrik Laine, Adam Henrique, or Oliver Kylington may sound intriguing in the PTO conversation, but don’t really line up with the Devils’ situation.
The same logic applies in goal. New Jersey is expected to have three goalies playing NHL games in 2026-27, and four preseason games do not leave much room for another body to rotate through. Even if the organization might need an option behind Jakub Malek in Utica, the NHL camp picture is too crowded to justify a fourth goaltender in the mix.
So while the rest of the league may still see plenty of PTO activity, the Devils appear headed for a quiet offseason on that front.
In Other News...
Devils Turned The Nemec Deal Into A Much Bigger Storyline
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Luke Evangelista is part of that broader picture, too, giving the Devils another layer of intrigue as they try to rework the lineup around younger talent and more flexible long-term pieces. His addition gives the team another potential offensive option, and the question now is how New Jersey will line up those pieces and what kind of scoring support he and his linemates can provide as this new era takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Put Real Pressure On 2 Veterans Who Have To Deliver
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Jake Allen is facing his own version of the same test in net. Expected to open the season as New Jerseys starting goaltender, he is now in the second year of his contract and needs to show he can be more than a steady placeholder. For the Devils, the equation is simple enough: Mercer has to hold his place in a crowded forward group, and Allen has to give the team confidence that the crease is secure. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Prospects Suddenly Face Real Pressure To Prove Themselves In Utica
The Devils roster has gotten crowded enough that even promising young players may have to wait their turn, and that makes Utica a far more consequential stop than it was a few weeks ago. With Luke Evangelista now in the mix, the path to NHL minutes looks narrower for players such as Lenni Hameenaho and David Rittich, while the attention shifts to the prospects who need the AHL to become more than just a holding pattern.
Matyas Melovsky, Shane Lachance and Jakub Malek are among the names that now matter even more in that setting, because their recent play will go a long way toward determining who can actually help New Jersey down the line. For the Devils, the bigger question is not just which prospects can survive in Utica, but which ones can sharpen enough there to turn a logjam into real competition, especially with goaltending still presenting its own uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]