With the first couple of days of free agency behind us, and some new faces joining the New Jersey Devils, today we make some summer predictions at how the team could line up come opening night and some rationale behind it all.
The New Jersey Devils have been making some necessary additions to the team this summer. They re-signed Jake Allen before he could hit the free agent market, brought in Evgenii Dadanov and Connor Brown while also signing and re-signing a few depth pieces to bolster Utica. Combine that with Lenni Hameenaho and Arseny Gritsyuk joining the team on entry level deals and Juho Lammikko being brought in prior to free agency starting and the Devils will be looking very different in 2025-26.
To that end, today we’re going to predict how the team might look come opening night in October. There will be some possibly surprising choices, some unpopular decisions and maybe even a grouping that many haven’t been thinking of as possible, but just might work. I plan to provide a bit of insight and justification for each section; please remember these are just the opinions/guesses of one writer with no connections to the team and this is also for fun! No one knows what exactly will happen between now and the first game of the season, so this is just to predict what potentially could happen. Without further ado:
Top Six Forwards
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Evgenii Dadanov
Arseny Gritsyuk – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
Rationale: Obviously the core four forwards are going to be a big portion of the top six, and as has been the case for the last couple of seasons, two are on each line, Nico’s line is going to get the harder match-ups, and I feel like Meier’s heaviness complements that nicely. Dadanov can play either wing and after putting up 20 and 20 for Dallas last season, I felt he was a better fit for this slot than the other acquisitions that will be discussed when we’re on to the bottom six.
With these lines, Jack and Jesper as the team’s most potent offensive weapons, can be freed up to face lesser competition (at least in home games) than Hischier’s line will. Joining them? None other than Gritsyuk, who is really kind of a wild card in this lineup. Maybe he’s a top six guy; maybe he’s a third line guy; maybe he doesn’t even make the team to start the season. There’s a lot that can happen here, but putting Grits with Hughes and Bratt could be the best way to set him up for success.
Bottom Six Forwards
Paul Cotter – Dawson Mercer – Stefan Noesen
Ondrej Palat – Cody Glass – Connor Brown
Rationale: Mercer at center may not be an ideal option, but with the players remaining, I think it makes the most sense to move him back. Giving him, Cotter and Noesen lower slots in the lineup should see easier matchups and less pressure, which hopefully leads to consistent support scoring from them. The Devils can’t afford Noesen and Cotter to go cold for long stretches again in 2025-26.
I’m aware that with these lines, I may have possibly assembled the most expensive fourth line in the NHL. Firstly, Noesen and Brown could both move up in this lineup, especially if Grits isn’t ready or Sheldon Keefe wants someone (Noesen, not Palat) to bring a different element to the Hughes/Bratt line. Glass should do well in a limited role and is actually the cheapest center of the four. Palat is finally in the spot he belongs in here; if the Devils don’t trade him before the start of the season, there is zero reason why he should continue to get top six minutes. Brown is somewhat of just the odd man out here, which speaks to the depth the Devils should have on the right side this coming season. I think he and Glass being here shows the Devils did improve their forward depth and could have four lines that all contribute in some capacity.
Extra Forwards
Juho Lammikko, Curtis MacDermid
Rationale: Lammikko is the actual odd man out starting in the press box, only because he’s either a C or LW and I don’t see the team sitting any of Palat, Mercer, Cotter or Glass to start the season. Good insurance, but not enough history of offensive production to draw in right away. MacDermid is here for…reasons? I’d rather use the fourteenth forward spot on Lenni Hameenaho, but I also don’t want Lenni as a healthy scratch. I don’t see both him and Grits with the big club (unless they both play huge in the preseasons) so let Hameenaho get big minutes in Utica and I guess management can be happy that they still have MacDermid around to punch a guy or two for the few times he draws in.
Defense
Luke Hughes* – Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler – Simon Nemec
Brenden Dillon – Dougie Hamilton
Extra: Dennis Cholowski IR: Johnny Kovacevic
*= RFA needing new contract as of this writing
Rationale: A new deal for Luke will get done, and he and Pesce will resume their role of bring the pair that keeps bringing solid results in all zones. Luke is a premier offensive defenseman in the making and Pesce just seems to always make good decisions and to read plays correctly. They came back from injury together last season, played a lot of games together, and should be kept together. I don’t think many will argue with either of these choices here.
Now the second pair might get some arguments, but I think this is the way for the team to move forward. The absence of Siegs was noticeable when he was injured, and he came back and played like a warrior in the playoffs. For a guy who was supposed to play limited minutes, he wound up playing 27 in Game 3 and 32 in Game 5. Yes, both went to double overtime, but it goes to show how much the Devils need his strong defensive play. As for Nemec, his postseason play may have been his best as a Devil, and could be a sign of him truly coming into his own. He elected to skip the world championship this summer and is already training to make sure he’s ready for the NHL season I think 2025-26 sees Nemec live up to his #2 overall selection status.
That leaves Dillon and Hamilton as the bottom pair. Dillon is here to defend and kill penalties and he should be fine doing so in a limited role. Hamilton on the bottom pair might be controversial, but he should get time on PP2 and a reduced role might be best for Dougie after dealing with injuries for the past two seasons. Lesser competition might also be the best way to have him utilize his offensive skills as well.
Kovacevic’s return will lead to some debate as to who should come out, and it might depend on who’s banged up, or not playing well. We might see situations where Dillon comes out and four right handed defenders play. I won’t speculate on it more than that, but his injury did make it easier to predict who plays where and with who.
As per the extra spot? I debated this with myself for a while, as the Devils don’t really have a vet to be the “not every night” guy while Kovacevic is out. It came down to either Semua Casey or Dennis Cholowski. While I absolutely do not want to see Cholowski playing NHL minutes after his playoff performance, it makes more sense to have him in the press box than it does Casey. Hopefully Cholowski sees exactly zero games before Kovacevic is back and the Devils can waive him to Utica at that point. Casey meanwhile is still waiver exempt and should see big minutes on the top pair in Utica.
Goaltenders
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Rationale: Didn’t want to forget the goalies, but after Allen’s new contract signing, this is a foregone conclusion. Same roles as last season for these two, hopefully with some better statistical results.
Your Take
There’s still quite a bit of summer to go and the Devils could potentially make some more moves, be they depth acquisitions, trades or otherwise. If they don’t, however, I think this is a realistic, albeit somewhat hopeful, look of what opening night could look like. What are your thoughts on the projected roster; any changes you would make from the groupings I have? Do you see different players making the roster and others starting in Utica? Are you hoping as I am that Hameenaho and Gristyuk both impress so that then Devils can waive MacDermid? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!