The New Jersey Devils have already done business with Detroit once this season, and the early payoff on that deal looks strong. A fourth-round pick went to the Red Wings for Amadeus Lombardi, who turned heads in camp, earned a roster spot before his NHL debut, and drew praise from his teammates.
His speed also appears to fit cleanly into Sheldon Keefe’s system. Even without game results yet, it reads like a win.
That backdrop makes the Simon Edvinsson question a natural one.
Detroit has had a messy offseason, and one of the biggest reasons is that the Red Wings were without a general manager for much of it. Steve Yzerman handled the front office through the draft and the start of free agency, but as the Dylan Larkin trade request dragged on, the pressure from 10 straight postseasons without a playoff run eventually pushed him out.
And Detroit still had plenty left unresolved. The Larkin situation remains unsettled, the club had the most cap space in the league, Alex DeBrincat’s extension needed attention, the captaincy had to be removed and reassigned, and the goalie picture depends on Trey Augustine being ready after this season.
Now Edvinsson is the next issue. With long-term deals around the league ballooning - Simon Nemec, Zeev Buium, Bowen Byram and Cale Makar among the players to land major contracts - Edvinsson is heading into Game 1 without a deal. His agent reportedly didn’t even know who to contact about negotiations before Shawn Horcoff stepped in as GM.
That creates the opening for a team like New Jersey, especially if the Devils want to address a defense that has been too tilted toward one side of the puck. Goaltending has gotten plenty of attention, even with the recent acquisition of Remi Poirier, but the blue line deserves just as much scrutiny. Tom Fitzgerald’s defense corps has become heavy on defensive-minded players who don’t bring much offense.
Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnny Kovacevic and Brendan Dillon all have value, but stacking all four together leaves very little production from the back end. That setup puts a lot on Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes to deliver big seasons.
And with Seamus Casey expected to miss time after a preseason injury, the Devils don’t have much else behind them. Declan Chisholm was supposed to help, but his rough preseason has not made him look like a real threat to take Kovacevic’s spot when Kovacevic returns from his own injury.
Edvinsson would obviously change that equation. He would give New Jersey another quality defenseman, and the source of the hesitation in Detroit could make him available in the first place. The Red Wings appear reluctant to hand him a long-term deal, while Mehta likely would not share that concern.
But the fit is only part of the equation. The cost would be steep, both in trade assets and in salary.
Casey’s injury may have already changed the asking price, with Detroit possibly pushing for Anton Silayev. That would be a tough ask for New Jersey, given the value of a player with that kind of skill who is just about to begin his entry-level contract.
Then comes the money. Edvinsson would not be a rental, and the Devils would have to pay him immediately. If the number is something like $10 million, the question becomes simple: where does that money come from?
A deal like that could force New Jersey to give up Dawson Mercer, Connor Brown and another piece, which would chip away at the forward depth Mehta has spent time building.
And there is one more complication hanging over all of it: Quinn Hughes. The fact that the eldest Hughes brother and top-two defenseman in the league still does not have an extension means the Wild will be on trade watch all season. New Jersey can’t afford to recreate the same kind of dead-end situation it faced last season, when it couldn’t maneuver once Hughes became available.
In Other News...
Devils Opening Night Roster Includes A Few Immediate Surprises
The Devils are heading into the 2026-27 season with a little more intrigue than a standard opening-night lineup usually brings. Their roster announcement came with 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders, and it also reflected some of the early injury management that comes with getting a team through camp and into the first week of the year. Nick Bjugstad, Seamus Casey and Johnathan Kovacevic are all on the injured/non-roster list, which opened the door for a couple of fresh names to make the initial cut.
Among the more notable additions is Amadeus Lombardi, who is set to make his NHL debut and gives New Jersey another young player to watch right away. The goaltending group also has a new face in Remi Poirier, recently acquired from the Dallas Stars, adding another layer to a roster that already has a few moving parts before the season has even fully gotten started. For the Devils, the opening-night group is less about certainty than it is about how quickly these early roster decisions settle once the games begin. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Opening Night Roster Leaves One Tough Decision Still Hanging
The Devils have their opening-night group in place, and it comes with the kind of structure that tells you how the front office sees the roster taking shape. New Jersey set its 23-man roster with 14 forwards, six defensemen and three goaltenders, while Nick Bjugstad, Seamus Casey and Johnathan Kovacevic all begin the season on injured reserve. The club also made the unusual choice to carry three goalies, including recent addition Remi Poirier, which gives the lineup a little more depth in net than on the blue line.
What stands out most is what is not there. New Jersey does not have an extra defenseman on the roster, leaving the group thin on the back end as the season begins and putting more weight on the players already dressed. For a team trying to get through October in one piece, that shape of the roster creates an obvious question about how long this configuration can hold and whether a move is coming once the season starts to settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Opening Week Will Test Keefe Before Bigger Questions Get Answered
The Devils 2026-27 season opens with a quick early test, and it comes right away in the first week. Sheldon Keefe gets his first real look at a roster now overseen by new general manager Sunny Mehta, with three games packed into the opening stretch, including division meetings with the Flyers and Islanders.
It is the kind of start that can shape the conversation before October settles in, especially with the goaltending picture still in flux. Jake Allen, Nico Daws and newly acquired Rmi Poirier give Keefe and Mehta a few different options to sort through, and these first games should offer an early read on how the Devils might look once the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]