The New Jersey Devils are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after last year's hiatus. It hasn't been easy, and it hasn't always been fun, but nothing that happened before Sunday matters. The Devils have a chance to win a Stanley Cup. They just have to outperform 16 teams, and it all starts with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils' first-round opponent.
And there is even more than that on the line for some players. We've seen great playoff runs turn into generational wealth for some players. Sometimes it's a player looking to sync his regular season production with playoff poins, and other times, a player can erase a rough season with a great run when it matters most.
Sometimes it's a young player, like Wyatt Johnston, getting north of $8 million from the notoriously stingy Dallas Stars after scoring 10 goals in the 2024 playoffs. Other times, an unrestricted free agent gets the bag based on his playoff performance. That happened last year with players like Jake Guentzel, Elias Lindholm, and Brady Skjei. Which Devils players could earn bigger deals, whether in New Jersey or elsewhere, with a huge run in the playoffs?
1. Cody Glass
Most New Jersey Devils fans want the team to prioritize a new contract for Cody Glass this offseason. He's been a great fit to this roster after the trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Devils gave up former first-round pick Chase Stillman, prospect Max Graham, and a 2027 third-round pick. That's not a small price to pay for a player, but it's been worth it so far.
Glass has seven points in 14 games with the Devils. He was great to start and has fallen off a little, but he's never been bad in the Keefe system. This seems like a great fit for the bottom six.
We can see the Devils making it worth Glass's while to re-sign anyway. He's a restricted free agent, so he will likely stick around, but the Devils can make the former first-round pick a long-term piece of the bottom six. He's owed $2.5 million on a qualifying offer. As of now, that's probably his going rate. However, if he plays like he did to start his Devils career in a playoff series or two, he could earn even more.