The New Jersey Devils and Luke Hughes took longer than any of us wanted to come to a contract agreement, but the important thing is they came to said agreement with enough time to get ready for the season. Hughes signed a seven-year deal that will pay him $9 million per season.
With that price locked in, the Devils now have to look at the cap situation going forward. As of this writing, Dougie Hamilton’s $9 million cap hit and Ondrej Palat’s $6 million hit are still on the books for 2026-27. That leaves the Devils with $15 million in cap space next season.
That’s a decent enough number to make some moves, but the Devils have contracts they already have to address, and that doesn’t include an inevitable trade for a top-six forward. The front office needs to know what they are working with, and future contracts have to be top of mind.
Which contracts will be most important coming up?
Honorable Mention: Arseny Gristyuk
We think Arseny Gritsyuk is going to be a Calder Trophy-level rookie this year, going stride for stride with Ivan Demidov and the rest of a really good rookie class. However, until he shows he can do it in the regular season, we can’t think about what his future contract will look like. The Devils should prepare for Gritsyuk to get a raise, but there are more important deals at this juncture.
Honorable Mention: Paul Cotter
The Devils really like what Paul Cotter brings to the Devils since his trade from the Vegas Golden Knights. He immediately broke the franchise record for hits in a season, and he has offensive upside. We’re not sure how significant his contract will be, and he is still an RFA, giving the Devils leverage in future talks.
Honorable Mention: Quinn Hughes
Obviously, Quinn Hughes doesn’t play for the New Jersey Devils. He plays for the Vancouver Canucks, but the Devils still have to think about what his next contract might look like. He’s getting a significant raise from his current $7.85 million AAV. The Devils have a ton of money coming off the books in 2027, and they’ll have more than $50 million in cap space when Quinn Hughes needs a new contract. However, Quinn is going to get a deal that pays him significantly more than $10 million per season.
3. Simon Nemec
The New Jersey Devils spent a ton of draft capital on defensemen. Since Tom Fitzgerald took over as GM, the Devils have drafted 14 defensemen, including four of his seven first-round picks. Right now, Luke Hughes is the one defenseman who has worked out in spades, with Shakir Mukhamadullin being a big part of the Timo Meier trade. The Devils hope to get NHL contributions from Seamus Casey, Anton Silayev, and Ethan Edwards.
The one who is most interesting is Simon Nemec. The Slovakian defenseman was selected second overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. The Devils had a chance to take Shane Wright or Logan Cooley, but they went with the blue liner. Since then, he’s had an up-and-down career. Some even called for him to be traded last season, but he proved his worth in the playoffs.
Now, Nemec appears to be back in the starting lineup until Johnny Kovacevic returns. He has a chance to earn his worth. And ironically, it’s coming in a contract year. What are the Devils going to do with Nemec moving forward?
He seems poised for a bridge deal, but the Devils might be smart to go longer on the term to hope they are buying on talent. Nemec hasn’t earned a huge salary, and if the Devils can get him locked up for a reasonable number, it could save the Devils' cap situation in the future if he turns into what they thought he would when they drafted him.
2. Jacob Markstrom
This one is a little more open and shut than the Nemec contract. Jacob Markstrom is closer to the end than the beginning at this point in his career. He still played really well in his first year with the Devils.
Tom Fitzgerald himself said he’s looking to extend Markstrom’s contract, which is set to end after this season. Reports say the price is going to be around $5 million, but the term is still unknown. With Mikhail Yegorov and Jakub Malek developing, it would make sense to keep Markstrom here short term.
The Devils already gave a long-term deal to Jake Allen this offseason. So, they don’t want to block the position for their talented young players completely. What kind of a deal makes sense?
Markstrom probably wants to finish his career in New Jersey, but that might not be possible after the deal Allen got. So, he might have to accept just the next two years with this high-powered Devils team.
1. Nico Hischier
The New Jersey Devils still have two years left on Nico Hischier’s seven-year deal, so the urgency here might not sound dire, but the Devils want to sign this deal before contracts start going off-the-wall crazy. With Kirill Kaprizov resetting the market at $17 million per season, the Devils are hoping they don’t have to go near that high for Hischier.
The Devils have to wait until July 1, 2026 before they can re-sign Hischier, but expect the Devils to start working on a framework way before that. The Devils want to know what price point their captain is looking for.
Many believe Hischier could be asking for something in the $12-13 million range, but that’s all just assumptions based very little on reality. Hischier is a player who appears to really like playing for the Devils.
This contract is more important than even an impending Quinn Hughes contract. It sets up this current generation of Devils hockey. It could set it up where Hischier is likely a New Jersey lifer.