As the calendar flips to February, there's a reality that has hit this New Jersey Devils team. A season of promise has brought a harsh truth: the 25-26 campaign is yet another lost year. Despite an eight-game winning streak back in October, a slow, painful descent since the middle of November has positioned them all the way down to 15th in the Eastern Conference. According to MoneyPuck, the Devils now have just an 8.9% chance to be in the postseason.
They are currently seven points out of third place in the Metropolitan division and nine points out of the last wild card spot. Despite being as close to healthy as they've been all year, the team is not scoring or winning. New Jersey ranks dead last in the National Hockey League, averaging 1.94 goals per 60 minutes (GF/60) at 5v5 per Natural Stat Trick. Their special teams have underperformed with the 11th best power play (22.2%) and middle-of-the-pack penalty kill that is 16th in the league (79.6%).
Now the #NJDevils, who might be one more pre-Olympic loss away from a reckoning:
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNHL) February 1, 2026
-- 3 HD chances in Ottawa. Doesn't seem like a desperate team based on that number. And that includes 5 PP opportunities.
-- Overturned tying goal is pretty clear rule-wise, so no arguing that.…
With two games to go before the Olympic break, things look bleak for the team, and it's a clear sign this season will be yet another year in which the Devils finish well below expectations and near the bottom of the standings. Most of the blame will fall on general manager Tom Fitzgerald. This is his sixth season as the man in charge, and since the incredibly 22-23 season, his team has gotten worse and worse. A lot of this comes from poor drafting, development, free-agent signings, and, above all else, poor roster construction.
The best thing for this team moving forward is to accept that this season is a failure and that a retool is necessary. You have to look to move some contracts off this team to create cap space and roster spots to remake the team. Guys like Dougie Hamilton, despite his play of late, Jonas Siegenthaler, Dawson Mercer, Brenden Dillion, Evgenii Dadonov, and Stefan Noesen need to be moved in one way or another. The core of this team needs to be examined as well, with guys like Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier struggling mightily with inconsistency.
While this may seem like a lot to change, the reality is that this team has once again bottomed out. It's frustrating for everyone involved, and at some point, something has to give. The best thing Fitzgerald can do for his team is open up as much space as possible and prepare to reshape it starting this offseason. The system hasn't worked since 2023. The time for change is now.
The sooner that Fitzgerald and co. decide to do that, the better off the franchise will be moving forward. You still have your core players on favorable deals. You have to do something else to elevate this team to becoming a true contender, or as head coach Sheldon Keefe put it, "a real hockey team." While the present moments will be tough to go through, you can improve the future immensely by moving what you can off the roster and beginning a fresh restart for the 26-27 season.