The Devils’ offseason has already brought in plenty of help up front, but the real conversation in New Jersey still circles back to the blue line - and to Quinn Hughes.
Luke Evangelista, Anthony Mantha and Evan Rodrigues have given the Devils a strong-looking group of forwards. Even so, the defense and goaltending remain the areas that still need answers.
The goaltending picture is still in a wait-and-see phase despite Connor Hellebuyck being available, while the defense has been stuck in a holding pattern. There’s talent there, with Luke Hughes expected to keep growing and Dougie Hamilton reportedly heading back to his pre-trade-rumor form.
Still, one major issue keeps hanging over the defense: Quinn Hughes has not signed an extension with the Minnesota Wild.
Yes, it’s another Quinn Hughes story. But this one matters because the NHL’s latest salary-cap projection changes the math in a big way.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts blog, the league gave its first estimate for the 2028-29 salary cap at this week’s Board of Governors meeting. That number is expected to jump by $14 million from next year to the year after, bringing the cap to $127.5 million for every team, including the Devils.
The scale of that increase is hard to miss. To put it in perspective, Cutter Gauthier’s $18 million salary accounts for 17% of the cap this year, just under 16% next year, and 14% under the 2028-29 projection.
"It’s a huge windfall for the players, after a summer where Leo Carlsson, Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar contracts set new stratospheres.
It is a new era for the NHL, and we’re all adjusting to it."
That matters for a player like Hughes, who is expected to command a massive deal whether he ends up with his brothers or somewhere else. With the cap climbing this sharply, Sunny Mehta has far more room to make a serious offer without boxing the Devils in over the short term or the long term.
The bigger cap also makes the fit cleaner if New Jersey wants to push hard for Hellebuyck too. In that kind of financial landscape, the Devils could realistically chase both. And if they do land Hughes, the ripple effect is obvious: he changes the entire outlook for the roster.
With the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals getting better fast, Hughes gives the Devils their best shot at staying ahead and building into a true contender. This time, the salary cap shouldn’t be the obstacle.
In Other News...
Devils Camp Cuts Put The Spotlight On Whos Really In The Mix
The Devils continued trimming their training camp roster by sending a group of players, including prospects Anton Silaev and Lenni Hmeenaho, to their AHL affiliate in Utica. It is the kind of early fall move that usually tells you a lot about where a team thinks its young players stand, and in this case it gives New Jersey a chance to keep two of its more interesting prospects active while camp sorts itself out.
Silaev and Hmeenaho are waiver-exempt, which means the Devils can move them between New Jersey and the Utica Comets without the risk of losing them on waivers. For a team trying to balance immediate NHL decisions with long-term development, that flexibility matters, and it suggests the front office is comfortable giving these players more runway in the minors rather than forcing them into a rushed battle for jobs before the roster is ready to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Larkin's Trade List Just Created A New Devils Problem
The Devils have spent the offseason trying to build around Nico Hischier, locking him up long term and adding pieces like Anthony Mantha and Luke Evangelista to deepen the forward group. On paper, it has been the kind of aggressive summer that suggests New Jersey is aiming to stay in the mix, but the latest development involving Dylan Larkin has added a wrinkle the front office probably would rather not have to consider.
Larkin has requested a trade from Detroit, and Elliotte Friedman reported that his expanded list includes Colorado, Washington, Dallas, and Tampa Bay. For New Jersey, the concern is less about those specific destinations than what they signal about the market around a proven center, especially with the Red Wings still operating without a full-time general manager after Steve Yzerman's departure. The Devils' roster already looks built for a certain kind of cap and depth picture, and any movement on a player like Larkin could have ripple effects that make the rest of the summer more complicated than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Fans Are Seeing Why This Late Pick Could Push For Minutes
Matyas Melovsky was the kind of late draft pick that rarely makes much noise at first, but he has been giving the Devils a reason to pay attention. Selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the young forward turned a strong final QMJHL season into a solid first pro year with the Utica Comets, where he put up 10 goals and 26 points in 55 games and started to show the kind of touch that can travel as he climbs the organization.
Now, in Devils training camp and preseason this year, Melovsky has carried that momentum into a bigger spotlight. For a team always looking for cost-controlled depth and young players who can force a conversation, his early showing has made him one of the more interesting names in the mix, even if the path from promising camp performer to NHL minutes is still a step-by-step process. [Read more 🡒]