When the New Jersey Devils moved Erik Haula for a fourth-round pick and a lower-level prospect last month, many expected that to set off a series of moves that shed salaries from contending teams and those close to the salary cap. The cap rising gave teams the appetite to add players who might be slightly overpaid.
However, the Devils are very close to the cap and still need to sign Luke Hughes to a long-term extension. They don’t have enough cap space to give him the contract he probably commands, which is likely why it’s taken this long to sign in the first place.
The most obvious move to make cap space is to trade Ondrej Palat. His $6 million salary is an anchor on the roster. He’s not nearly what he used to be. Palat was a mess for most of last season, and he didn’t take to Sheldon Keefe’s system. His mistakes led to goals against, and he did not pair well with either Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier.
The Devils do need upgrades on the bottom six, but they did just fine with Evgenii Dadonov and Connor Brown this offseason. Palat isn’t a necessary cog to this team. Losing them might be an addition by subtraction.
One might ask what’s taking this deal so long, but this might be more complicated than it seems. Palat has a 10-team no-trade clause. He can block certain moves, and he has a no-move clause, so he can’t be placed on waivers or buried in the minors.
While it’s true that there’s a ton of cap space available, the fact is nobody who isn’t on Palat’s no-trade list is biting on the full cost of him. At one point, it seemed like the Devils would get decent assets for Palat. Now, they might have to make concessions.
And the big trade that happened on Thursday evening didn’t help.
The Penguins have acquired defenseman Matt Dumba and a 2028 second-round draft pick from the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 10, 2025
Details: https://t.co/PnehxGBkBI pic.twitter.com/pTzTwxqluL
The Dallas Stars sent a future second-round pick just to get off of Matt Dumba's contract. Dumba was awful for Dallas last year, but his contract is just ove $3 million for next season. A future second-round pick just to take on that salary? That's not what the Devils want to see.
Palat is a distressed asset, but so was Haula. They probably thought a team was seeing how well he plays in the playoffs and took a chance on his veteran leadership. It hasn't happened yet, and the Devils might now have to add a draft pick for someone to do it.