Tuesday evening saw New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald finally begin to correct a years old mistake now when it was announced that Ondrej Palat would be held out of the game for “roster related reasons” which usually means a trade is coming. By the time the first period came to an end on Johnny Mac night, the deal had been announced. Palat was going to the New York Islanders along with a 3rd and 6th round pick in exchange for Maxim Tysplakov. The biggest win coming out of the deal perhaps? No salary retention on Palat’s contract.
Now, anyone who’s reading this probably did the same thing and went to see how much of a cap savings this was upon the deal being announced. With Tsyplakov only counting for $2.25 million against the cap, the Devils already are saving $3.75 million. Not bad for a pair of picks that are lottery tickets at best. Additionally, moving one struggling, underachieving player for another gives both a chance to succeed with a change of scenery. Tsyplakov will get his chance to live up to his contract starting tonight. Each also has one more season on their deals after this one as well, so neither team took on extra contractual time commitment.
There are also a couple of additional benefits from this deal that might not be apparent right away which also had me excited when it was announced. I’m not sitting here expecting Tsyplakov to suddenly become a superstar player; he may have had a strong first NHL season last year, but 2025-26 has been more of a struggle for him than it has been for Palat. He could bounce back with the change of scenery though. If he doesn’t, the Devils are still presented with an interesting pair of opportunities that they did not possess by having Palat still on their books.
The first option for the Devils would be to just trade Tsyplakov. He has none of the trade protections on his contract that Palat did, so the Devils could recoup a draft pick, more cap space or both by moving Maxim either before the trade deadline or before the start of next season. While the Devils may not need the space by then, it’s good to have an easier route to clear it than they did before. The second option would be to buy him out this summer. The Devils could’ve done the same with Palat, but it will be a lot less money stretched over the next two years with Tsyplakov than it would’ve been with Ondrej.
There is also a third option here that relies upon Tsyplakov’s playing history and is seemingly the one of the three that did not exist in any way, shape or form when it came to Palat. Tsyplakov originally came up through the KHL, and decided to finally try playing in North America prior to last season. If he and the Devils are not happy with how that’s working, they can agree to mutually terminate the deal. If Maxim believes he could get a better opportunity back overseas, he and the team could go this route, which again would be a direct savings to the Devils’ cap. It may not be the primary option, but it’s a possibility and if Tsyplakov can find a deal and team that offers him more ice (if he falls out of favor in New Jersey as he did in New York) then I fail to see why both parties would not pursue this option.
I’m not going to completely absolve Tom Fitzgerald or let him off the hook for the Palat signing, but he did do well to get a more flexible contract at the expense of a couple of lesser draft picks. If Tysplakov works out, great! The Devils could certainly use someone, anyone who could provide them with a shot in the arm right now. But even if he doesn’t, there’s easier ways to get him off of the books and increase the salary cap space for the team to make improvements that will help the on ice product. Do we trust this current management team to use said cap space if it does get freed up though? That is a discussion for another time.
What are your thoughts on the Devils finally being free from the Palat contract; is your hope that Tsyplakov bounces back and becomes a useful player? Would you rather the Devils find a way to move him as well and maximize their cap space for this season and beyond? Are you just happy that Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt no longer have to carry Palat on the ice? Leave any and all comments down below and thanks as always for reading!