The New Jersey Devils have their 23-man roster in place, and with the regular season only days away, the final trim sends the last cuts to Utica.
Up front, the Devils are keeping 14 forwards: Jesper Boqvist, Jesper Bratt, Connor Brown, Luke Evangelista, Cody Glass, Arseny Gritsyuk, Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Amadeus Lombardi, Anthony Mantha, Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier, Stefan Noesen, and Evan Rodrigues.
The blue line features Declan Chisholm, Brenden Dillon, Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, Brett Pesce, and Jonas Siegenthaler. In goal, New Jersey is carrying Jake Allen, Nico Daws, and newly acquired Remi Poirier.
Nick Bjugstad, Seamus Casey, and Johnathan Kovacevic are all starting the season on injured reserve, though Casey can be sent down at any time without going through waivers.
After a camp that had its share of intrigue, the roster itself doesn’t bring many surprises. The most notable call is that Boqvist, Lombardi, and Noesen are all on the opening-night roster, and all three could be in the mix for the 12th forward spot.
Right now, Lombardi looks to have the edge based on how the Devils have been practicing. New Jersey traded for him in June, and because he required waivers to be assigned to the minors, his spot on the roster was hardly a shock.
Boqvist also appears to be ahead of Noesen on the depth chart based on what’s been seen in practice.
The Devils’ decision to carry three goaltenders also fits with the move they made Sunday, when they claimed Poirier from the Dallas Stars. If New Jersey had used him only as a hedge on a David Rittich claim, the Stars could have simply taken him back. Instead, the Devils clearly see something in the 24-year-old, and his AHL track record and traits made him a sensible bet.
The one roster wrinkle is on defense: with 14 forwards and three goalies, New Jersey is opening the season without an extra defenseman, which leaves a little less cushion if injuries hit. Kovacevic’s stay on IR is expected to be brief, though, and that means the Devils will have another roster call to make soon enough.
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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 Week Will Test Keefe Before Bigger Questions Get Answered
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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 🡒]
Islanders Fans Now Face A New Way To Watch This Season
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DAZN is offering several subscription options, including season passes, monthly passes and game passes, and fans can access the service through its website or app on multiple devices. For a fan base used to tracking the Islanders across different platforms, the shift adds another layer to how the team will be followed night to night. [Read more 🡒]