The New Jersey Devils are preparing for a very important offseason. GM Tom Fitzgerald has admitted on multiple occasions that he wasn't satisfied with the 2024-25 season, despite the fact that the Devils made it back to the playoffs riding a laundry list of injuries. The Devils need to get better if they are going to take advantage of the peaks of Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.
To do that this offseason, they need to severely improve the roster. The defense is in decent shape if Johnny Kovacevic and Brenden Dillon come back healthy and Luke Hughes re-signs. They want to bring back Jake Allen, but if he ends up being too expensive, they could go forth with Nico Daws as the backup goalie.
Where the Devils need upgrades is at forward. The bottom six was not it. Stefan Noesen and Paul Cotter will return to their roles, but the rest of the bottom six is interchangeable. One problem, the Devils have just over $12 million in cap space. And again, they have to re-sign Luke Hughes. Let's say Hughes gets $8 million per season the Devils will have $4 million to upgrade the bottom six.
They do have one option to make more space. They can trade Ondrej Palat. Palat's $6 million would go a long way in helping the Devils bottom six. Something hasn't clicked since he signed a five-year deal with the Devils three years ago.
Palat has a modified no-trade clause this year. He will be asked to post a 10-team trade list. He will likely try to add teams who have no chance to go after him so he can control his destiny, but we do think there are a few teams he would agree to be traded to. And we think those teams would be happy to trade for him, even with his full salary.
1. Detroit Red Wings
The "Yzerplan" hasn't worked in Detroit. Steve Yzerman has been the general manager of his former team since 2019. In that time, his former team (the Tampa Bay Lightning) have been to three Stanley Cup Finals, winning two Cups along the way. Meanwhile, the Red Wings haven't played a playoff game. Detroit is one of the great franchises in this game, but they have quietly been one of the worst franchises over the past decade. They haven't been to the postseason since 2016 when they lost to Yzerman's Lightning.
Yzerman drafted Palat in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft. He's one of the big wins of Yzerman's career. We think Palat would accept a trade to Detroit to pair up with the GM who believed in him most. He drafted him. He re-signed him. Now, he can trade for him.
2. Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks saw progression this season, putting together a competitive team that saw its youth take over and the veterans play a big role. According to Puck Pedia, the Ducks have a ridiculous $38 million in cap space this offseason. They declared that they want to play with the big boys. They want to be in on Mitch Marner and every big free agent.
They can also trade for a former two-time Stanley Cup winner to add to their group. They already paid big money for Alex Killorn. Might as well connect him with his former teammate in Palat. Maybe the Ducks will give the Devils their second-round pick and Herman Traff back that they sent for Brian Dumoulin. We've seen the Ducks spend on veterans after they traded for Jacob Trouba during the season.
3. Boston Bruins
It’s hard to know what the Boston Bruins want to do this offseason, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they think they can re-tool. They still have one of the top scorers in the game in David Pastrnak. There’s a nonzero chance they bring back Brad Marchand after he plays for a Stanley Cup. Jeremy Swayman played better down the stretch, and they’ve already added a ton of assets at the trade deadline.
If the Bruins want to re-tool instead of rebuild, they could make a move for a player like Palat. He brings experience, and he might be a good player to fit with Marco Sturm. We could see a different type of deal, where maybe the Devils trade a player for a player to get someone who is cheaper for Palat. Dare we say Pavel Zacha returns to New Jersey, or maybe they target Casey Middlestadt? There are centers they can get from Boston to help the bottom six.