Improvement is the name of the game for the New Jersey Devils in 2025-26. For a team that has its window of competitiveness open, finishing third in the Metropolitan Division, seventh in the Eastern Conference and 16th in the league (with a Western Conference team that missed the playoffs ahead of them in points) is a failure of a season. Fading out in five games in the first round only adds to the narrative that 2024-25 was unsuccessful. While the forward group has been adjusted and augmented (with some work to still to be done in training camp), the defense remains pretty much untouched.
Sure, maybe there’s argument to be had among fans as to whether Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey should be playing in the last every night spot with Johnny Kovacevic likely to start the season on injured reserve. There could even be some discussion as to who should be the seventh defender. For the most part however, once the team gets Luke Hughes re-signed to a new deal, the Devils defense of 2025-26 won’t be radically different from the defense of 2024-25. But could the team change up how they deploy the players involved?
Since both Hughes and Brett Pesce returned to action from injury in October of last year, the team’s pairings have been mostly consistent aside from when half of them went down injured in the latter parts of the campaign. Typically Hughes and Pesce were together, as were Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon while Jonas Siegenthaler and Kovacevic also spent a large chunk of minutes together. Hughes and Pesce were the clear cut first pair by season’s end, with each logging over a minute more per game than any other defender. While most would probably see Hamilton and Dillon as the second pair based on Dougie’s past role, they were really more of the third, as Dillon, even with penalty kill time, averaged a full minute less ice per game than Siegs, Dougie and Kovacevic.
The defense wasn’t a problem per se, but maybe a shuffle could maximize their usage and help to propel the team even further. I’m not a big proponent of plus/minus, as it only paints part of a picture rather than a full one, but Hughes and Pesce were the two regulars (Nemec and Brian Dumoulin are not counted as regulars, as both appeared in less than 30 games) who were minuses overall for the regular season. While the players who are frequently on the ice (especially in late game/empty net situations) are more likely to see goals against them, you really want your first pair to be pushing play nightly rather than breaking even, which is essentially what Hughes/Pesce did. So what can be done to get said maximizing?
Well, without Kovacevic, it’s not easy to say. If we were to go off of last season, we’d probably be looking at Hughes/Pesce, Dillon/Hamilton and Siegenthaler/Nemec to start things off. Bumping Dougie back up top to play with Luke would lead to an offensive focused top pair, but I’m not sure everyone is ready for the defensive adventures that could result from it. Additionally, I think that Dillon/Pesce wouldn’t be a great solution either, as they could probably move the puck in the right direction, but offense could become a struggle. Pesce isn’t bad offensively, but it’ not what he’s known for and anytime Dillon puts up points, it’s just an added bonus at this stage.
If the Devils wanted to try something new, (and don’t want to just rearrange pairings as I suggested previously) I could see this being an attempted rollout:
Siegenthaler – Hamilton
Hughes – Pesce
Dillon – Nemec
While this leaves one pair intact, it bumps them down in terms of responsibility, and could free them up for some more advantageous matchups. Hamilton is no stranger to big minutes, and Siegs was such an integral piece on the back last season that he wound up playing big minutes right away coming back from an injury even though part of it was out of necessity. Dougie isn’t completely inept in his own end (despite how some see it) and with Jonas as the solidifying force, this could be a change that keeps the Devils moving forward and scoring more. Dillon has lost a step from his prime, but in a reduced role with Nemec, it could be beneficial for both. Nemec needs a more defensive focused partner right now even if the goal/hope is he grows into a strong two way defender. If Dillon falls off more, the team might have to swing a trade or hope that one of the three young lefty prospects (Topias Vilen, Jeremy Hanzel or Ethan Edwards) are ready enough that they can step in with Dillon getting demoted to press box/fill in duty. Before anyone asks, no Nemec/Casey should not be an option.
The Devils will be doing all they can this season to try and replicate the regular season of 2022-23 rather than 2023-24 or 2024-25 with the goal being to go further in the playoffs than they have in over a decade. While the forward depth will be responsible for putting in more points than last year, the defense also bears some responsibility to supplement the stars. I do believe the Devils have a group that can accomplish this. But it all will depend on how they are paired and how they are used throughout the season.
What are your thoughts on the Devils defense situation; do you believe they need to shuffle up who is on which pair? Are you more of the mindset that adjusting the order as I discussed roughly two months ago is the better solution? Do you think we see a young defender make the roster as a regular over a player like Dillon? Or do you think Sheldon Keefe stays status quo with his defense minus Kovacevic? Leave any and all comments down below and thanks as always for reading!