The New Jersey Devils are heading into training camp with most of the heavy lifting already done.
That’s the reality of this roster. The team has just started reporting, media day was yesterday, and the usual camp buzz is here - but this time, there isn’t much mystery attached to the Devils’ opening-night picture. Training camp still matters, of course, but mostly as a runway into a four-game preseason and then the regular season.
There are always surprises in NHL camps. A young player can force his way onto the roster.
A veteran can show up not quite ready. But this Devils group doesn’t appear to have much room for that kind of shake-up.
The offseason moves were enough to plug the holes up front and on defense, which leaves very little open space for someone to burst out of nowhere and grab a job.
At this point, the roster feels mostly mapped out. There may still be a small battle for a final forward spot or a press-box role, and the Devils could still shuffle a few names around at the margins.
Vladislav Kolyachonok could end up as the seventh defenseman instead of Declan Chisholm when opening night arrives. The club could also decide to carry three goalies and keep one fewer forward to start the season.
But those are the kinds of details that get sorted later. They don’t point to a major surprise.
That also means the dream of Anton Silaev landing on the opening-night roster is probably off the table unless preseason injuries force the issue. The same goes for the players who just took part in rookie camp and the matchup against the Islanders. They’re not being handed a real lane to crack the lineup right now.
Some of the names already feel spoken for. David Rittich and Amadeus Lombardi were among the players mentioned in the discussion of that last roster spot type of role, and the logic is pretty straightforward: teams do not sign or trade for players who need waivers unless they expect those players to be in the mix. Rittich is a little different, since third goalies are sometimes brought in and waived for depth, but the broader point still stands.
So what is camp really about for the Devils? Mostly getting to work.
It’s a chance to introduce the younger players through practices and maybe the first one or two preseason games. Beyond that, with only four preseason games on the schedule, the focus shifts quickly to blending the new pieces and sorting out line combinations and defensive pairs.
The Devils brought in Anthony Mantha in free agency, added Evan Rodrigues, brought Jesper Boqvist back from Florida, and acquired Luke Evangelista from Nashville. That’s at least four new forwards, and with such a short prep window, the team probably won’t want to keep adding too many more moving parts.
The first preseason game is already set for this coming Sunday, and the calendar is moving fast. For most teams, camp is where the real competition starts.
For the Devils, it looks more like a tune-up than a battle for jobs. There are still a few small questions left to answer, but the bigger pieces are already in place.
This preseason feels less like a search and more like a formality.
In Other News...
Devils Lose Veteran Center At Worst Possible Time
The Devils got an unwelcome reminder of how quickly a preseason can change when Nick Bjugstads recovery became the headline before camp even opened. New Jersey said the veteran forward underwent successful surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle, and the timing could hardly be worse for a team trying to sort out its early-season plans and build some stability down the middle.
Bjugstad will miss training camp and is facing a four-to-six month recovery timeline, which puts a significant chunk of the 2026-27 season in jeopardy as well. The injury adds another layer of caution to camp, where defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic is also expected to be limited while working back from a minor offseason knee procedure. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Front Office Shakeup Sends Familiar Name Back Into The NHL
The Devils have moved into a new phase upstairs, with Sunny Mehta now running hockey operations after the organization parted ways with Tom Fitzgerald. Mehta wasted little time putting his own stamp on the front office, including a change at assistant general manager that brought Braden Birch into the role and shifted Dan MacKinnon out of it.
One familiar name from the previous regime also found a new landing spot elsewhere in the league. Chuck Fletcher, who had served as a senior advisor with New Jersey, was not retained and has since been hired in the same advisory role by the Seattle Kraken, a reminder that front office turnover rarely stays contained to one zip code for long. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Camp Suddenly Has A Roster Crunch Fans Need To Watch
The Devils are heading into on-ice training camp with a forward group that looks far more crowded than it did a year ago, and that is by design. General manager Sunny Mehta spent the offseason adding to the mix, giving New Jersey a deeper set of options up front while also bringing back a defensive group that still has plenty of familiar faces in place.
What makes camp worth watching now is the squeeze at the bottom of the roster, where a few spots are going to be fought over rather than handed out. Dawson Mercers status remains part of the conversation, and new defenseman Declan Chisholm adds another layer to the competition as the Devils sort through how their projected lines and defense pairings ultimately fit together. [Read more 🡒]