In a recent interview with New Jersey Hockey Now reporter James Nichols, Devils general manager Sunny Mehta answered a couple of intriguing questions regarding the team, including Barrett Hayton's offer sheet, Jack Hughes's contract, and the Jacob Markstrom trade. The most intriguing part of the interview was when Sunny Mehta discussed the Devils' blue line for this upcoming season.
Sunny Mehta says that he likes the current defensive group, making it clear that we never saw the full potential due to key injuries to players such as Luke Hughes, Jonathan Kovacevic, and Brett Pesce. A key part of Mehta talking about the group is the age curve that Luke Hughes is approaching; usually, players in the 22-24 age range are where they leap.
As we know, Dougie Hamilton has been thrown around in trade rumors for quite some time now. Nichols asked about expectations for Dougie Hamilton while mentioning that people thought he wouldn't even be playing for New Jersey for much longer. Sunny Mehta answered by saying he believes Dougie Hamilton helps the Devils outscore and outchance opponents, and also mentioned that he is excited about the balance of the defensive pairings.
There's something to be excited about with New Jersey Devils defense
Mehta was asked about the addition of defenseman Declan Chisholm, who was recently acquired from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick. Sunny spoke very highly of Chisholm, importantly stating that he's had an "affinity" for the player, also saying that he has been trying to acquire him since he was running the show with the Florida Panthers. Mehta described Declan Chisholm as a great mobile skater with hockey sense. In the age range that the Devils are looking for, Chisholm is currently 26 years old. It will be interesting to see how much time on ice Chisholm will get given the fact that Sunny Mehta speaks so highly of him.
Former New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec was also discussed in this interview with Sunny Mehta saying that the offer from the Calgary Flames was something they just couldn't turn down. The Devils recently traded away Simon Nemec for a 2027 first-round pick (via Vegas Golden Knights, top-10 protected), 2028 first-round pick (via Colorado Avalanche, top-10 protected), 2026 second-round pick (via New York Rangers), and prospect Etienne Morin.
If the season started today, the Devils' defensive pairings look pretty solid, when healthy, of course. As things stand, we'd assume that the pairings would be Jonas Siegenthaler/Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes/Brett Pesce, and Brenden Dillon/Jonathan Kovacevic. We are still far away from puck drop on October 1st, so things can very well change with the roster.
Add us as a preferred source on Google