The New Jersey Devils are preparing for a busy few days. With the 12th-overall pick in the NHL Draft, the Devils might hold the best pick that could still be had in a trade. They also got a really valuable pick in the Simon Nemec deal. The 35th-overall pick could be a great opportunity to either select some of the really talented players who fell out of the first round, or they could use that pick in a trade, as well.
Those early second-round picks helped the Devils get P.K. Subban in 2019. While that move as a whole didn’t work (unless you count his complete love for the Devils on national media as winning), the talent was clearly there.
New Devils GM Sunny Mehta is looking to work the phones, but he’s missed on some of the big players that made sense for the Devils. Jordan Kyrou was the biggest target that made sense for the Devils’ top six, but he was traded to the Washington Capitals. They also added Alex Tuch, showing they are preparing to force their way back to the postseason after missing it last season.
On top of Kyrou, dream acquisitions like Brady Tkachuk, William Eklund, and Ross Colton were traded for various deals. Now, while a flurry of trades has already taken place, there are many, many more expected to come from now until the end of the draft. Dylan Larkin is almost a certainty to be moved in the next few days. Connor Hellebuyck will be seriously discussed. Zack Werenski might be right behind him. Then, there are the dozens of complimentary players who will likely be moved to round out rosters ahead of and during free agency.
On Thursday afternoon, to hype up the next 50ish hours of hockey discussion, the Devils shared a video of Sunny Mehta speaking with his staff. It discussed a lot in the short 53-second video, including calling his draft picks “currency” in reference to how they are used. However, one comment made our eyebrows raise.
"If you asked me two weeks ago, I would have thought we'd be sitting here on Wednesday before the draft and we'd have way fewer picks than we started with a month ago. It's turned out to be the exact opposite; we have a lot more. "Sunny Mehta, New Jersey Devils GM
Sunny Mehta's offseason has not gone as he expected it to, but that's okay for the New Jersey Devils
Of course, many expected the Devils to make at least on addition by now. Mehta calls the situation "fluid" and says the draft picks the have can "change by tomorrow."
Sunny's standard is set. We're all in. pic.twitter.com/GjXHkwZzBA
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) June 25, 2026
The Devils will be very active in trade talks. Mehta will be working the phones during and ahead of the draft. Hopefully, unlike his predecessor, he can pull the trigger on a move or two to make this roster better. Right now, with only Simon Nemec coming off the books, the Devils are at least slightly worse than they were at the end of last season.
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