The New Jersey Devils have been underperforming since Nov. 29. For a team that had so many high hopes going into the season, they're starting to look more like pretenders than contenders. That is, unless they can fix a few players.
One of those players is Ondrej Palat, who has been hard to watch since the season began. When he arrived in Newark for the 2022-23 season, Palat was slowly phasing out of the top-six minutes he often found himself in with the Tampa Bay Lightning. But on a team as talented as the Devils, it meant they were getting at least a solid forward who could play middle-six minutes and occasional top-six minutes.
Predictably, Palat's production also steadily declined, but he was still reliable enough to be a modest playmaker and to put up a double-digit shooting percentage. In 2024-25, Palat had just 28 points in 77 games, but he still put up 15 goals across 13:45 of average total ice time.
This season, Palat doesn't even look remotely close to the player he once was. He has just eight points and two goals across 43 games this season, and a 4.1 shooting percentage with an average total ice time of just 12:53.
Ondrej Palat is officially at a crossroads with the New Jersey Devils
Palat reached a new low in the Devils' 9-0 loss on Tuesday night to the New York Islanders. How bad did it get for him? Stefen Rosner of NHL.com shared the dreary numbers, writing that "Palat was minus-5 in 9:39 of ice time; he was benched for the majority of the second period."
A minus-5 in under 10 minutes was the last thing a struggling player like Palat needed. It dropped Palat down to a minus-4 this season, but even if he went into Tuesday night's loss with a plus-1, his possession metrics at even strength show that he's been struggling all season.
Palat's offensive impact has been almost non-existent, with his on-ice shooting percentage clocking in at 8.8, the second-lowest mark of his career. Palat has been on the ice for 25 goals allowed, and his on-ice save percentage is a career-low 88.8 percent.
He's a major reason why the Devils have had such a tough time getting anything going when they have had the puck over their last 19 games, where they have scored just 37 goals. If the Devils are interested in making a playoff push, finding a way to move on from a player like Palat would be ideal, but there are roadblocks.
Devils might be stuck with Ondrej Palat for at least the remainder of the season
Currently, Palat is playing on a $6 million cap hit with a no-movement clause. With the way he's been playing, nobody is going to take on a contract like that and take a chance on Palat. Secondly, the Devils are Palat's best chance at playing in the postseason, so it's not an option for them to dump his contract onto a team that won't contend.
This means the Devils have no choice but to diagnose the issue surrounding Palat and fix it. If they do that, then they will at least get a decent depth scorer in Palat to help solve their scoring woes. But, considering Palat's play all season, the chances of the Devils fixing him are slim.
They are in the absolute worst position a team can be in with a player. A position where they are forking out a large salary, but are seeing hardly any decent return on their investment. And with a no-movement clause, they're stuck with him unless a contender is willing to deal for and try to fix him.