The New Jersey Devils had one of the strangest seasons in franchise history, and there’s already been fallout. Tom Fitzgerald was relieved of his services, and the Devils are apparently searching for both a President of Hockey Operations and a general manager. The team is looking for a completely new leadership structure.
With new leadership comes changes to everyone. Sheldon Keefe is on the chopping block. He might survive after a late-season run, but that will be up to the new leadership group to decide. There’s a chance that ownership could let Keefe go, but he wouldn’t be the only one if that were the case.
The roster is going to change. As hard as it might be with the no-move and no-trade clauses, there will be major movement. There are a million questions revolving around the roster.
Will the new GM actually trade a piece of their core after multiple seasons of under achievement? Is Dougie Hamilton still on the chopping block? How will they deal with the situation on defense, where six players are signed and another is an RFA? Whoever takes over this offseason has their word cut out for them.
While there are still questions, there are a few players we feel are leaving this roster. We appreciated their time in New Jersey, but it’s time to move on.
Evgenii Dadonov
The Evgenii Dadonov contract looked like it was exactly what this team needed. A 20-goal scorer who signed for $1 million plus bonuses. Tom Fitzgerald made this contract a future GM problem. Unfortunately, Dadonov got hurt in his very first regular-season game with the Devils.
Dadonov was never the same. He went most of the season with zero points. Zilch. Nothing. He was clearly never the same after breaking his hand. Then, he suffered multiple other injuries throughout the season. He was always a shell of himself. Dadonov will be like some of the other older veterans who didn’t work out in New Jersey, like Chris Tierney or Tomas Novak.
We actually see Dadonov working out with another team. He was originally on a line with Jack Hughes, so the coaching staff had high hopes for him. This season was a mess with injuries in New Jersey, and a team will be willing to give him a shot to showcase what he can still do, even if he has to go into training camp on a PTO.
Dennis Cholowski
The Devils traded for Dennis Cholowski at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, and Fitzgerald decided to bring him back for one more campaign. It wasn’t a well-received signing. Cholowski struggled in his time with the Devils, and Sheldon Keefe used him way too much with the injuries facing the Devils towards the end of last season and in the playoffs.
Did you realize that Cholowski played 17 games in the NHL this season? That seems impossible. Cholowski got a chance to show himself as an NHL player again, and he had just two assists. Not that +/- is an impactful statistic, but it is telling that Cholowski is a -6 in 17 games. That’s quite the deficit in not a lot of time.
A new GM isn’t even relying on Cholowski for depth. There are too many other options that make more sense. Colton White showed he’s a decent option in a pinch. Seamus Casey will be close to ready for the NHL next season. Topias Vilen can be a fine spot start. And they can sign someone better than Cholowski for dirt cheap.
Maxim Tsyplakov
The New Jersey Devils finally traded Ondrej Palat to the New York Islanders with a pick tied to him for Maxim Tsyplakov. Keeping Tsyplakov was their version of retaining salary. Both are signed through next season, but Tsyplakov doesn’t cost $6 million against the salary cap like Palat does.
Some might think the Devils would try to give Tsyplakov another shot, even with his $2.25 million per season salary, but the buyout is too enticing not to take it. If the Devils’ new GM buys out Tsyplakov, according to Puck Pedia, it would cost the Devils just $750,000 next season and the season after.
That saves the Devils $1.5 million. That’s going to be huge with what the Devils want to do this offseason. Every dollar will count, and we can’t see the Devils keeping him on the roster rather than saving that price. Tsyplakov had a chance to make an impact after the Palat trade, but he had one goal and one assist in 22 games. It wasn’t the best audition for him if he felt like he just needed a change of scenery.
Simon Nemec
Our first “shocker” on the list. There will be big changes to the roster. For this list, we’re trying to find the guarantees. And we could target a player like Nathan Legare or Brian Halonen, but we think they could come back with the AHL squad. So, let’s talk about Simon Nemec.
This has been dramatic for years. Nemec has spoken way too often to Slovakian media when he was upset. He tried to force his way to the NHL after being sent to the AHL last season. To be fair, he was pretty good when forced to replace Dougie Hamilton in 2023-24. This season, he had insane ups, including multiple overtime goals and a hat trick, and ridiculous downs.
Now, Nemec needs a new contract. If he were open to a bridge deal, we think there’s a chance that the Devils would bring him back. The former second-overall pick has the skill to be a great defenseman, but his decision-making leaves a ton to be desired. Is he going to ask for Luke Hughes money without the Luke Hughes leverage? We can’t see it. He’s, at best, a $6 million defenseman. His ceiling is higher, obviously, but that’s not guaranteed, as it felt like with Hughes. No way a new GM gives him that kind of a contract.
Dawson Mercer
This one is the biggest shock, even for us, but the more we go through this roster and the moves a new GM will make, we just can’t see Dawson Mercer on this roster moving forward. He brings a lot of added value to the table, but he’s one of the few valuable players without a no-move clause.
We’d see the Devils trading Mercer for another forward with value but that hasn’t hit their ceiling. At one point, Mercer looked like one of the best players in the 2020 NHL Draft. After scoring 27 goals and adding 29 assists in 2022-23, Mercer looked like one of the better young players in the league. The Devils felt like they had a plethora of young riches with Mercer, Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt.
All of a sudden, Hughes, Hischier, and Bratt are well within their primes. Mercer should be there, as well, since he’s 24 years old. The Devils aren’t going to get the haul they once could with Mercer. Remember, he was the rumored sticking point to a Connor Hellebuyck trade. Instead, they likely want to make a trade for a player who is a little younger and hasn’t hit his ceiling yet.
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