New Jersey’s offseason keeps moving, and the Devils still look like a team with more business to do.
That’s the read from multiple corners of the Devils beat, where the common thread is simple: general manager Sunny Mehta has been busy, but the roster may not be finished yet. The club is cheaper now, deeper than it was, and has enough bodies to fill out a 23-man squad. Even so, there’s still a sense that more movement is coming.
One look at the current roster is enough to understand why that feeling lingers. The Devils have made improvements, but if they want to get to the level of the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals next season, there’s still work ahead. The next few weeks could tell the story of how much more Mehta plans to do before the roster is set.
There’s also a fresh layer to the Devils’ summer after the trade that sent goaltender Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey and brought in forwards Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist. Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk spoke openly on his podcast about how much he’ll miss both players, saying he was genuinely sad to see them go. He didn’t hold back in describing what they meant to him, and he added that he even delivered a direct message to Jack Hughes about one of the new arrivals.
Elsewhere around the league, Macklin Celebrini is now the NHL 27 cover athlete. The San Jose Sharks center also told ESPN last week that he has thought about taking less than market value on a contract extension so the Sharks can have more financial flexibility to build a winner.
“Yeah, 100%. I mean, that’s why all of us play.
We want to win. We’re competitive and we want to win,” Celebrini said while promoting EA Sports’ “NHL 27” reveal.
In Other News...
NHL Just Blew Another Huge Chance With Devils Rangers Rivalry
The Devils-Rangers rivalry still has the kind of juice the NHL should be leaning into. Their 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff series drew strong viewership and reminded the league how much attention a Hudson River showdown can command when both teams matter at the same time. But instead of building on that momentum, the schedule has kept the matchup oddly sparse, with only three meetings last season and all of them tucked late in the year, when the buzz had already faded.
This season brings a little more of what fans want, with four games on the calendar between New Jersey and New York. The catch is in the timing: every one of them lands before Christmas, leaving the rivalry front-loaded and then disappearing from the schedule for the rest of the season. For a pairing that has proven it can sell itself, it feels like a missed opportunity to stretch out one of the leagues best natural draws. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Fans Wont All Agree With This Mikhail Yegorov Ranking
Mikhail Yegorovs stock is still very much a work in progress, which is why his place in the goalie-prospect conversation is going to draw some debate around the Devils. The Boston University netminder took a step back statistically from his freshman to sophomore season, but evaluators are still trying to balance that against the long view with a young goalie who has obvious physical tools and room to grow.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic helped sharpen that discussion by placing Yegorov ninth among goalie prospects in his summer rankings, a spot that will feel too low to some and just right to others. Wheelers view is rooted in upside, not just results, and the real question for New Jersey is whether Yegorovs profile eventually points to a legitimate NHL starter or simply another intriguing name in a crowded pipeline. [Read more 🡒]
One Bizarre Ruling Changed Devils History Forever
A strange bit of early-1990s NHL business ended up reshaping the Devils for years to come. The chain started when St. Louis signed Scott Stevens to an offer sheet from Washington, which cost the Blues draft-pick compensation, and it got even messier when they later tried to pry Brendan Shanahan away from New Jersey. Because those picks were already spoken for, the matter went to arbitration and turned into one of the most unusual roster rulings the league has ever seen.
The fallout from that case reached far beyond a single transaction. New Jersey came out of it with a cornerstone defenseman who helped define the franchises identity, and the whole episode became part of the reason the NHL eventually tightened its offer-sheet rules. For Devils fans, it remains one of those bizarre what-if moments in league history, the kind that still hangs over how a dynasty can be traced back to a decision no one saw coming. [Read more 🡒]