The Devils made their first big swing of the offseason, and it came with a price that will keep being debated.
New Jersey dealt Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames in a move that immediately split the fan base. The package going back to the Devils included the 35th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, which the Devils extended to a second- and fourth-round pick, along with Etienne Morin and two conditional first-round draft picks. Calgary also received forward Maxim Tsyplakov in the trade.
For the Devils, it was GM Sunny Mehta’s first major move for the organization, and it landed right in the middle of a summer that already featured the additions of veterans Anthony Mantha, Evan Rodrigues, and Jesper Boqvist. Some fans saw the deal as aggressive and forward-looking. Others looked at it and saw another team trying to patch over goaltending and defensive problems without keeping one of its most promising young blue-liners.
Nemec, a Slovakian-born defenseman who was taken second overall, had 11 goals and 15 assists in 68 games last season. He brought offense, energy and flashes of the two-way game the Devils have been trying to build around. He scored power-play goals, a short-handed goal, and even had a double-overtime-ending goal in a playoff game.
Still, the fit was never smooth enough to quiet the noise. As the season wound down, trade talk picked up, including claims that Nemec had asked out.
He pushed back on that idea, saying, "I didn't ask for a trade, but there were some conversations that it didn't work out for me, for the team. New Jersey got a new GM, and he decided to go this way and I'm totally fine with that."
That’s the tension sitting at the heart of this move. The Devils have spent years searching for stability in goal and on the back end.
Goaltending has been a mess for a long time, with the team cycling through seven goalies in 2022 alone. New Jersey has tried to address that by adding veteran help like Jakob Markmark, and it now uses a three-goalie rotation.
But the defensive side of the roster remains a major issue, and the team knows it needs more than stopgap fixes if it wants to make a real Stanley Cup push in the coming seasons.
That’s why moving a player like Nemec carries so much risk. He had the kind of profile that could eventually solve problems instead of just covering them up: a two-way defenseman with enough skill to matter at both ends.
But he also had the growing pains that come with being young and still learning the league. At times, he won games for New Jersey.
At other times, he made the kinds of mistakes that can swing a night the wrong way, especially in his own zone.
Nemec, though, isn’t hiding from the story. He’s young, still early in his career, and he believes there’s more there.
He pointed to his experience with Slovakia and said, "And also, a small country like us, playing together and playing for something, we can do huge things. We almost won a bronze medal.
At the end of the day, no one's going to ask who finished fourth, but now it's a good memory."
He also addressed one of the issues that shaped his time in New Jersey, saying, "We were three guys in New Jersey. We all wanted to play first power play, and it didn't work well for me..."
So the Devils are betting that the return will matter more than the talent they shipped out. Nemec, meanwhile, gets a fresh start and a chance to prove New Jersey gave up on him too soon. Whether this is remembered as a smart reset or a costly miss will come down to what those picks turn into, and whether the defenseman the Devils moved ever becomes the player many thought he could be.
In Other News...
Devils Just Got A Big Center Boost Amid Fresh Nemec Debate
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Simon Nemecs departure has added a different layer to the conversation, even after the recent trade that sent him to the Calgary Flames. In a recent interview, the defenseman said he wants to prove his former team wrong about his potential, which gives the move a little extra edge as New Jersey keeps building around its core. The Devils may feel good about their centers, but the debate over what they gave up and what Nemec becomes elsewhere is likely to linger for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Legend Who Brought Hockey To New Jersey Gets Long Overdue Honor
Jack Hughes may have gotten a nomination for the New Jersey Hall of Fame, but the 2024 class will look a little different when the ceremony arrives on Sept. 24. Among the inductees is Dr. John McMullen, the former Devils owner whose place in the states sports history runs far beyond wins and losses, with the honor coming posthumously and in a setting hosted by Danny DeVito.
For Devils fans, McMullens recognition carries a familiar kind of resonance because his influence helped shape where hockey could take root in New Jersey. While Hughes was among the names considered, he was not selected this time, leaving the spotlight on a figure whose connection to the franchise and the state still feels overdue. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Blue-Line Debate Gets Interesting With One Intriguing PTO Option
Logan Stanley is the kind of defenseman who always seems to invite a debate, and that is part of what makes him an interesting summer option for the Devils. He put up career highs in goals, assists and points last season while leaning into the physical side of his game, and the broader case for him is pretty simple: there is size, edge and enough offensive touch to think there could still be something more there with a bigger role.
For New Jersey, the appeal would be less about splash and more about depth on a blue line that can always use another dependable body. Stanleys underlying numbers are part of the conversation too, since they suggest there may be room for improvement if he gets more ice time, but the real question is whether the Devils see enough upside to make the move worth exploring. That is what keeps this possibility interesting, and unresolved, heading into the next stretch of roster building. [Read more 🡒]