The New Jersey Devils open their season Thursday night at home against the Philadelphia Flyers, and the first week will offer an early look at what Sunny Mehta’s revamped roster might become.
It’s only three games, which is hardly enough time to draw sweeping conclusions in an 84-game season. Still, that small stretch can reveal a lot about a team with a new direction, a first-time general manager making aggressive changes, and plenty of questions hanging over the roster.
The biggest one is simple: do the Devils come out sharp, or do they spend the first few games searching for themselves? Early-season hockey around the league can get messy, especially with a shortened preseason and a schedule that starts earlier than usual.
New faces in important spots only add to the uncertainty. Sheldon Keefe will need time to sort out the lines and figure out the best lineup combinations, but New Jersey also knows how costly a slow start can be.
Fall behind early, and the pressure builds fast. Start hot, and Mehta can begin thinking bigger about where this group can go.
That opening stretch also gives the Devils an immediate division test. After the Flyers visit on Thursday, New Jersey heads to Long Island two days later to face the New York Islanders before finishing the week against the Utah Mammoth.
The first two opponents matter most here, since the Flyers and Islanders are teams the Devils could be battling for playoff positioning. Philadelphia is trying to build on its young core after making the playoffs last season, while the Islanders bring a lineup with star power led by Matthew Schaefer, Ilya Sorokin, and Bo Horvat, plus new head coach Pete DeBoer.
Goaltending remains one of the most interesting pieces of the puzzle. Jake Allen and Nico Daws were already part of a position that raised questions heading into the season, and now Rémi Poirier has been added on a waiver claim.
That gives the Devils three goaltenders to manage, which makes the first week especially worth watching. Allen and Daws could split the early starts, or all three could get into a game.
However it plays out, the Devils will be trying to find out whether that trio can give them an edge.
The new faces up front add another layer. Luke Evangelista was acquired a month before the season and looked strong in the preseason, especially alongside Nico Hischier and Timo Meier.
The questions now are about how much he can give them once the games count. Anthony Mantha arrives with his own intrigue as a summer signing, while Evan Rodrigues and Amadeus Lombardi also give the Devils more moving parts to sort through.
Lombardi, in particular, will be worth tracking to see whether he can become a regular on the NHL roster.
All of that ties into the bigger question around the Devils: what exactly are they trying to be now? For years, especially in the Jack Hughes era, they were defined by speed and skill, with Hughes and Jesper Bratt driving a dangerous top six.
This offseason, though, the Devils added size and different skill sets in an effort to broaden that identity. They do not want to be a team that leans only on speed, and they do not want to be a team that depends too heavily on Hughes.
So the first week becomes more than just three games. It’s a snapshot of whether the Devils are still built to win with pace and offense, or whether this new version starts showing something sturdier, more physical, and maybe even better on the defensive side.
In Other News...
Alexander Holtz Just Revived An Old Devils Development Debate
The Devils trimmed their roster ahead of the official deadline, putting goaltender David Rittich on waivers and claiming Remi Poirier from the Dallas Stars. But the more familiar name in the mix is Alexander Holtz, the former first-round pick New Jersey once hoped would grow into a steady scoring piece.
Holtzs situation has a way of pulling the conversation back to one of the organizations lingering development debates, because he was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights and is now on waivers after limited scoring success. For Devils fans, it is another reminder of how uncertain the path can be for a young forward who arrives with pedigree, leaves with questions, and still leaves plenty of second-guessing behind. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Camp Battle Is Putting One Tough Roster Decision Front And Center
Training camp has done what it usually does for a team with playoff expectations and too many forwards for too few jobs: it has turned the bottom six into the loudest part of the roster conversation. The Devils are still sorting through different third- and fourth-line combinations, with experience and youth both getting a long look as the staff tries to settle on a group that can handle defensive shifts, contribute enough offense and survive the grind of a long season.
Jesper Boqvist, Colin White and Stefan Noesen are among the names in the mix, and the numbers game could eventually force the issue through waivers. Amadeus Lombardi is also part of the equation, with a possible AHL assignment looming as the organization weighs whether he is better served by development time or a spot on the big club. It is the kind of roster squeeze that speaks well of the depth, even if it leaves a few players waiting for the final answer. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Opening Night Will Test A Roster That Suddenly Feels Deeper
The Devils head into opening night looking like a club that carried more than just good vibes out of camp. Their preseason showed a group playing with sharper cohesion and a clearer sense of identity, and it was the kind of stretch that made the roster feel deeper than it did a year ago. Amadeus Lombardi was among the players who turned that opportunity into something more concrete, earning a spot and adding to the sense that the pipeline under Tom Fitzgerald is starting to produce real options.
Now the challenge shifts from summer optimism to a game that counts, with the Flyers waiting to provide an early read on how much of that preseason improvement holds up. Depth can look different once the pace rises and the matchups sharpen, and opening night should say plenty about whether the Devils are simply better equipped for the grind or ready to turn that added depth into an edge right away. [Read more 🡒]