Looking at the Devils' roster on PuckPedia, their cap sheet is relatively tidy. Sure, in a perfect world, Timo Meier's production matches his underlying numbers and makes that $8.8 million AAV cap hit more palatable, and sure, in a perfect world, Luke Hughes would have already broken out and proved that his $9 million AAV deal was perfectly reasonable at the time.
Those are problems that could very easily go away, though, with a little positive regression and a little development.
Outside of them, now that Ondrej Palat and Jacob Markstrom are off the books, the Devils' lineup is full of players getting either fair or far-below-market-value contracts. Let's chat about the three best:
1. Jack Hughes
$8 million AAV until 2030
There's no question about it: Jack has far and away the best contract on the team entering the 2026-27 season. His $8 million AAV deal, which was signed four years ago, has been one of the NHL's best bargains for quite some time, being a great-value deal since it came into effect in 2022-23.
At his best, Jack is a top-five player in the league, having a one-of-one playstyle and the extremely rare ability to completely take over a game every time he's on the ice. His 42 post-Olympic points were second in the NHL last season, and his 3.40 all-strength points per 60 minutes in the last three seasons are tied for tenth-best in the league. His underlying metrics are elite, his production is elite, and his contract is a complete bargain.
2. Jesper Bratt
$7.875 million AAV until 2031
There should also be no reservations about what Devils contract is second-best, with Bratt getting paid $7.875 million per season for the next five seasons. In that same three-year span, No. 63 ranks 29th in the NHL in total all-strength points per 60 minutes and ranks 32nd in the league at 5v5 points per hour to boot, which is tops on the team.
As far as underlying statistics go, there is perhaps no better example of stellar numbers than Bratt himself. He has posted an expected goal share (xGF%) of at least 52.22% in each of the last six seasons, as per NaturalStatTrick. To boot, he has been the Devils' most consistently healthy top-six forward and, as such, their most consistent producer. With a full season of healthy Jack Hughes, Bratt should be expected to push 90-95 points.
3. Arseny Gritsyuk
$3.25 million AAV until 2029
The Devils' third-best value deal is one that was signed this summer, in Gritsyuk's three-year, $3.25 million AAV extension. Conceptually, that AAV makes complete sense for a player with one year in the NHL under his belt -- and a year he was less than a half-point-per-game in production as well -- but the underlying numbers suggest that he could be due for a significant breakout in 2026-27 in the right circumstances.
Gritsyuk was the second-best player in the league in terms of his isolated impact on shot attempts (combining offensive and defensive impacts) in 2025-26, was one of the few Devils with an xGF% of over 50%, and certainly proved that he has the juice to play in the big leagues. With more experience, adjustment to Sheldon Keefe's system, and better communication with his teammates, there's reason to believe there's a lot more in the tank.
The Devils are in a pretty good spot all around with regard to their contracts being at fair value across the board. These three, though, are complete bargains at this point in time and should only age better as the cap continues to explode.
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