Once the 2026 offseason begins, the New Jersey Devils will have to work towards an agreeable solution for the uncertain future of pending RFA defenseman Simon Nemec.
The Devils, of course, have Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Johnathan Kovacevic all signed for multiple additional seasons, while Nemec, 22, is said to be looking for a hefty payday this summer.
Unless the Devils can move either Hamilton or Kovacevic--available for very different reasons--Nemec is the odd man out. And he's partly the odd man out because he will have the highest trade value of the three, which the Devils can leverage in a trade for a forward like Matthew Knies, for example.
Kovacevic will turn 29 in July, while Hamilton will turn 33. Pesce, 31, will turn 32 in November. That's already a fairly old right side with nothing substantive behind them except for, maybe, Seamus Casey. But, with careful navigation, the Devils can turn this precarious situation into a win.
For starters, it goes almost without saying that, if the Devils trade Nemec, it has to be for a forward of similar age, quality, and upside. If not Knies, the Devils could look at other players who are RFAs like Nemec, such as Collin Graf, Pavel Dorofeyev, Trevor Zegras, Dylan Holloway, or even Jason Robertson.
Whoever it ends up being, the NHL return has to be substantive for the Devils.
The wildcard, though, is what they do with their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. At the time of this writing, the Devils sit 20th in the NHL with 80 points in 75 games played. That would give them the 13th overall pick, barring draft lottery changes, putting them within range of an elite talent.
Without getting too much into the slew of controversial draft failures, the Devils would be wise to reinvest in the defense position following the loss of Nemec, effectively resetting the clock on replacing Hamilton, Pesce, or Kovacevic, so to speak.
Two names that stick out looking ahead to the 2026 draft are Ryan Lin and Daxon Rudolph, assuming that the Devils are well out of contention for Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff.
In EliteProspects' January rankings, Lin, 17, placed 14th, while Rudolph checked in not far behind at 17th.
Lin, a 5-foot-11 right-shot, is committed to the University of Denver for the 2026-27 season and is currently wearing the 'A' for the WHL Vancouver Giants, with whom he has 14 goals, 43 assists, and 57 points in 53 games.
Offense is the name of Lin's game as an undersized defender, though EliteProspects scout David St-Louis made an encouraging comparison to Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon.
Rudolph, 18, is a slightly different profile compared to Lin as a 6-foot-2 right-shot defender; he's more physical by default and has been more prolific in the WHL this season. In 68 games, wearing the 'A' for the Prince Albert Raiders, Rudolph has 28 goals, 50 assists, and 78 points.
The difference in size and offensive capabilities may eventually push Rudolph over Lin and into the top-10 conversation, but the Devils have gotten lucky with the draft lottery before, and things don't always fall according to plan on draft day.
In any case, by leveraging Nemec for a significant upgrade at forward, then by getting a few years younger with his replacement via the draft, the Devils can put themselves back in the strong position they thought they were in four years ago.