With the current state of both players’ contracts, the New Jersey Devils may have to wait a year to move either or both Hamilton and Palat.
The New Jersey Devils have seemingly made all of the adjustments for their roster that they’re going to make before 2025-26 begins. Aside from the Luke Hughes still needing a new contact, this summer was mainly players being re-signed and some depth additions being made. Many fans, and even some pundits also expected the team to attempt to move on from Ondrej Palat and/or Dougie Hamilton as another way of further reshaping the team. For all we know, General Manager Tom Fitzgerald may have made calls to try and make this happen. Neither has been moved though, at least not as of when this article is being written.
Now for those who are waiting for the deal to be announced any day, I have some bad news for you. I don’t think you’re going to see it happen this summer. Yes, the Devils may need to clear some space to give Luke the amount of money that makes both team and player (and his brother) happy. With LTIR space from Johnny Kovacevic’s injury, they can both find that amount and buy some time in terms of cap compliance when the whole team is healthy. The cap space not necessarily being needed is just one reason I think we have to wait one more season before at least one of them isn’t a Devil.
In regards to Hamilton, he’s needed right now. With no Kovacevic on the right for a few months, I don’t think the team wants to start the season with Brett Pesce, Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey on the right side. There’s just too much inexperience there for a team wanting to go deep into the postseason. Hamilton has his flaws but he’s not the atrocity some fans make him out to be. I get that he’s overpaid, but right now that doesn’t seem to be a big issue and again his play tends to be a net positive. Now if his play completely falls off a cliff this season, then in hindsight we can say not moving him was a mistake.
As for Palat, I honestly think there’s not a lot of interest for him around the league. The guy makes $6 million for each of the next two seasons, which with the rising cap isn’t a huge amount. The obvious issue is his on ice play has declined to the point where he’s only worth maybe half of that cap hit, if not less. He’s had the benefit of playing with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt and still finished last season with an uninspiring point total. Devils fans don’t want to see him paired with top top anymore, so I imagine most other NHL teams probably feel the same way. Palat’s contact was always seen as a bad contract, and at this point unfortunately he’s basically a cap dump.
Next summer Dougie should still have some value. The cap is set to rise again and as long as he stays relatively healthy and produces some points, there should be interest if the Devils decide they need to reallocate his cap space. Right handed defenders who can put up points are valuable in the NHL, even if they are overpaid a bit. With two seasons remaining in a rising cap world, Hamilton could be used as a trade chip to bolster other roster areas.
As for Palat, next summer moved him to just having one season left on his current contract. By that point, the Devils could try to move him as a pure cap dump. There is no scenario where I see him rebuilding his value into the positive this year. If the team can’t move him, a contact buyout becomes logical. According to PuckPedia’s buyout calculator, the savings next season would be better than if they traded Palat and retained 50%, and the following season would be a paltry $1.65 million against the cap. Due to the forthcoming Luke contract, money is tight and it would be hard for the Devils to both buyout Palat and sign a replacement this summer. The numbers are much easier to work with if they wait one more season. Not ideal, but if they push him down the lineup this season, it’s bearable.
The Devils are still searching for the right combination of players to push them over the top. Even with a rising cap, they still could use to move on from at least one of Palat and Hamilton both for cap and roster construction reasons. While many want this to happen now, mathematically it makes more sense next summer in terms of making their deals easier to move.
What are your thoughts on the Devils trying to move Palat and/or Hamilton? Is there one you would prefer to see sent elsewhere over the other? Do you think the Devils would be better if both were moved? Are you worried about the gaps in the lineup they would leave or a potential underwhelming return for them? Would you prefer management to just buy Palat’s contract out next summer? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!