September has arrived, and the Devils’ return to the ice is getting close enough to feel real. Rookie camp opens Sept. 11, veterans follow on Sept. 16, and then New Jersey goes into a four-game preseason before the regular season begins Oct.
- It’s a short runway, and for a team coming off a rough season, the pressure is already baked in.
One of the bigger individual bright spots for New Jersey is Nico Hischier, who keeps stacking up recognition. After being named one of the NHL’s top 20 centers, he landed at No. 43 on NHL Network’s list of the league’s top 50 players. Hischier is coming off his fifth straight season with more than 20 goals and 60 points, and the Devils will lean on him in every possible way again this year.
That means offense, faceoffs, and all the little details that make him so valuable in his own end, too. His skating, positioning, and ability to influence the game in all three zones give New Jersey a player it can trust whether the puck is on his stick or headed toward his net.
He’s also had a busy offseason already. In early July, he signed a five-year extension with an $11.7 million average annual value, and a little more than a week later he helped save a family in distress on the Aare River in Switzerland, working alongside police officers during the rescue.
The Devils also learned what their national TV slate will look like for 2026-27. ESPN and TNT Sports announced their broadcast schedules earlier this week, and New Jersey will be featured in 12 games. That list starts with the home opener on Oct. 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers and includes a spot in ESPN’s Frozen Frenzy tripleheader on Oct. 13 against the Detroit Red Wings, with that game set for 6 PM ET.
Here’s the full schedule:
Oct. 1 - Philadelphia Flyers - 7:00 PM - ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Oct. 13 - Detroit Red Wings - 6:00 PM - ESPN
Nov. 3 - Edmonton Oilers - 7:30 PM - ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Dec. 1 - San Jose Sharks - 7:30 PM - ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Dec. 9 - Detroit Red Wings - 7:00 PM - TNT
Dec. 17 - Toronto Maple Leafs - 7:30 PM - ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Jan. 19 - Dallas Stars - 7:30 PM - ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Feb. 23 - Carolina Hurricanes - 7:30 PM - ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu
Feb. 28 - Minnesota Wild - 3:30 PM - TNT
March 4 - Detroit Red Wings - 6:00 PM - ESPN
March 31 - Minnesota Wild - 7:30 PM - TNT
April 4 - Florida Panthers - 4:30 PM - TNT
Elsewhere in the rumor mill, Cale Makar’s massive new deal has only made the Quinn Hughes conversation more complicated. Makar signed an eight-year, $163.2 million extension with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL.
That development pushes Hughes’s expected price even higher, and the Devils simply don’t have the cap space to make it easy. New Jersey currently has $3.85 million left under the cap, and Hughes could reach free agency after this season.
The big question now is not just what Hughes will make, but how long the next contract will be. A three-year deal would line him up with his brother Jack’s free-agent timeline, while a longer-term contract would follow the Makar route.
For now, the Minnesota Wild remain the team to watch, since they still have to get a deal done with the 26-year-old defenseman. General manager Bill Guerin sounded calm about it, saying, “I can be confident, you can be insecure, you just have to work through the process of the negotiations, figuring out what the player wants, what it will take to keep him, make him happy,” Guerin stated.
The latest “Greetings From Jersey” installment is also on the way, and this one puts Timo Meier front and center. The series, which is sponsored by United Airlines, gives a behind-the-scenes look at Devils players away from the rink. The new episode will spotlight Meier’s offseason in Switzerland, including his annual youth hockey camp.
The teaser showed scenes from his time back home, where he worked with more than 100 kids at Herisau Sports Center in July. The camp is in its seventh year, and it comes with a personal connection for Meier, since that’s the same place where he first fell in love with hockey as a child. The full episode arrives Sept. 3 on YouTube.
In Other News...
Three Devils Prospects Are Running Out Of Time To Break Through
The Devils have a small but important cluster of prospects heading into a pivotal season, with Josh Filmon, Ethan Edwards and Seamus Casey all entering the final year of their contracts. Each one is at a different stage of the climb, but the common thread is simple enough: this is the year they have to show real progress if they want to stay in the conversation. For Filmon, that means hanging onto a roster spot in Utica while bringing more offense. Edwards has to keep pushing for a larger role and prove he can stand out in a crowded field of call-up candidates.
Casey brings the highest ceiling of the group, but his path is tied just as much to availability as ability, because staying healthy is central to his development and his chance to earn NHL looks. The Devils have seen enough from all three to believe there is still something to work with, yet the margin for patience is getting thinner. With contracts running down and competition everywhere, this season may determine whether they become part of New Jerseys next wave or just another set of prospects who never quite broke through. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Fans Just Got A New Reason To Watch Quinn Hughes Closely
Nico Hischiers new extension with the Devils carried the kind of message fans in New Jersey love to hear: he said loyalty to the organization and a desire to give back helped shape his decision to stay. For a franchise that has spent years trying to build real stability around its core, that kind of commitment matters as much as the contract itself, especially when it comes from one of the faces of the team.
Elsewhere around the league, Quinn Hughes has become a player worth monitoring for a different reason. Minnesota GM Bill Guerin recently cast some uncertainty over Hughes priorities while also leaving the door open to trade possibilities, which is the sort of comment that tends to ripple quickly through the NHL rumor mill. For Devils fans, it is another reminder that the market for top-end talent can shift fast, and that even the leagues most closely watched names can suddenly enter a conversation nobody expected to be having. [Read more 🡒]
Timo Meier Faces A Big Devils Question Entering 2026-27
Timo Meier heads into 2026-27 still looking like one of the more important pieces in New Jerseys forward group, and the Devils are counting on him to stay in their top six and drive offense at a higher level. He played 77 games last season and finished with 44 points, a solid year that also included a five-game absence for personal leave, while his name remained prominent enough to earn selection to Swedens mens hockey team for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The question for the Devils is whether this is the season Meier turns that steady production into something bigger. He is entering the fourth year of his contract, and the expectation around the team is that he can push past the 60-point mark if his role and usage hold. For a club trying to keep its offense layered and dangerous, what Meier does next could matter as much as any move on the roster. [Read more 🡒]