The Devils enter 2026-27 with a cap sheet that looks pretty clean, and the real edge comes from the deals that already feel like steals. With Ondrej Palat and Jacob Markstrom off the books, New Jersey is carrying a lineup packed with contracts that are either right on the money or well below market value.
At the top of that list is Jack Hughes, and it’s not particularly close. His $8 million AAV runs through 2030, and it has been one of the NHL’s best bargains since it kicked in in 2022-23.
Hughes can still bend a game to his will when he’s rolling. He’s the kind of player who looks like a top-five talent in the league at his best, with a style that’s hard to compare to anyone else.
Last season, his 42 post-Olympic points ranked second in the NHL, and over the last three seasons his 3.40 all-strength points per 60 minutes tied for tenth in the league. The production is elite, the underlying numbers are elite, and the price tag is a gift.
Jesper Bratt is right there behind him. His $7.875 million AAV, which lasts through 2031, gives the Devils another premium player at a number that looks more and more favorable by the year.
Over the last three seasons, Bratt ranks 29th in the NHL in all-strength points per 60 minutes and 32nd in 5v5 points per hour, both of which lead the Devils. The underlying profile is just as strong.
He has finished with an expected goal share of at least 52.22% in each of the last six seasons, according to NaturalStatTrick, and he’s been New Jersey’s most dependable healthy top-six forward. If Jack Hughes gives him a full season to work with, Bratt should be in the 90-95 point range.
The third deal worth circling is Arseny Gritsyuk’s, and it’s the newest one on the list. The Devils signed him to a three-year extension at $3.25 million AAV this summer, which is a sensible number for a player with only one NHL season behind him and production that came in at less than a point per game.
But the underlying signs point to a player who could take a real step in 2026-27 if the situation is right. In 2025-26, Gritsyuk was the second-best player in the league in isolated impact on shot attempts when combining offense and defense, and he was one of the few Devils to post an xGF% above 50%.
He showed enough to make it clear he belongs, and with more time in Sheldon Keefe’s system, more experience, and better communication with his teammates, there’s plenty of room for growth.
For a team that already has a lot of fair-value contracts, these three stand out as true bargains. And with the cap continuing to rise, they only have a chance to look better.
In Other News...
Jack Hughes' Next Devils Deal Could Get Uncomfortable Fast
Jack Hughes has already reset the market once for the Devils, and his next contract figures to come at a time when the ceiling around him is moving almost as quickly as his game. Around the league, top-end player pay is climbing in a way that would have sounded aggressive only a few years ago, with recent NHL deals for the likes of Leo Carlsson and Macklin Celebrini reflecting a broader trend toward bigger cap percentages for franchise players. For New Jersey, that matters because Hughes is no longer just a star in a vacuum, he is the kind of centerpiece whose deal will be judged against where the salary cap is heading, not where it sits today.
The uncomfortable part for the Devils is the timing. Leaguewide projections point to a sharply higher cap by 2030, and the maximum salary itself is expected to keep rising as collective bargaining changes and expansion reshape the economics around the sport. That gives New Jersey room to breathe in the long view, but it also means every year Hughes waits could make the eventual negotiation more complicated, with the numbers and the leverage both changing underneath the team. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Face The Same Connor Hellebuyck Dilemma All Over Again
Connor Hellebuyck has surfaced again as a name the Devils are monitoring, and the timing makes sense for a team still weighing its long-term answer in goal. New Jersey already has Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich in the mix, but that has not stopped the club from being linked to one of the NHLs most accomplished netminders as the Winnipeg Jets explore what a deal would look like.
The problem for the Devils is the same one that follows any pursuit of a goalie of Hellebuycks stature: the cost is not just in assets, but in commitment. Winnipeg is looking for a hefty return, and New Jersey is reportedly wary of paying a premium for a player whose age and contract length would create real financial risk, even if his desire to settle his situation quickly keeps the door open. [Read more 🡒]
Devils May Be Ready To Revisit One Frustrating Jack Hughes Pairing
Jack Hughes and Timo Meier have had stretches together that have not always looked smooth to the eye, which is part of why the pairing has picked up a frustrating reputation around New Jersey. But the deeper numbers tell a more encouraging story. Their expected goal share and scoring-chance results have been positive, even if the actual goal differential has stayed slightly on the wrong side, a sign that the combination may have been dragged down more by luck than by a true chemistry issue.
For a Devils team still looking to maximize its most dangerous talent, that makes the idea worth revisiting in training camp. Meier remains one of the more natural fits to play off Hughes, with enough skill and shot volume to keep pressure on defenses, and the underlying data suggests the duo has at least earned another look. It is not a finished answer, but it is the kind of option New Jersey should be open to exploring again when camp opens. [Read more 🡒]