The New Jersey Devils wrapped up their preseason schedule on Saturday, falling in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was a mostly AHL lineup, as the big guns stayed back in Newark to get some rest before the regular season begins. I think I speak for the vast majority of Devils fans when I say I’m glad the exhibition schedule is concluded and the regular season is mere days away.
But while most of us find the preseason to be interminable, there’s no denying that a lessons can be learned and information can be gleaned from the runup to opening day. The Devils had a lot of questions surrounding their roster and lineup entering training camp and preseason game action, and after a full slate of practices and exhibition contests, we have gotten a lot more clarity on what this team will look like once the games start mattering.
Let’s dive into what we learned this preseason:
Dadonov Gets The First Shot With Hughes And Bratt
Ondrej Palat was mostly the third wheel with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt last season. His performance with the two offensive dynamos made it clear: He simply could not continue in that role in 2025-26.
So the hunt for a suitable winger for that line began in the offseason. The Devils imported Arseny Gritsyuk from Russia, signed Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov in free agency, and surely considered players like Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier, even if only briefly. And after a long training camp and preseason slate, we have our answer: It will be Dadonov getting the first opportunity with the Hughes line.
The Russian winger provides smarts, offensive skill, and surprising speed for a 36-year old. He scored 20 goals and 40 points a season ago with the Dallas Stars, showing he’s still got plenty of juice left as he enters the twilight of his career. The hope is that Dadonov’s speed allows him to keep pace with Hughes and Bratt, his playmaking ability creates chances for them, and his finishing touch can compliment Hughes’ and Bratt’s own playmaking ability well.
It’s a tiny sample size during preseason action, so take this with the biggest grain of salt in the world, but according to Natural Stat Trick, this trio didn’t exactly light the world on fire during the exhibition slate. In two games and 22:12 of 5-on-5 play together, they posted an Expected Goals For% of 43.31%. They did out-attempt their opponents 19-14 and win the Scoring Chances battle 9-8, though, so it wasn’t all bad.
In any case, Dadonov gets the call first. I expect head coach Sheldon Keefe to give this line a lot of runway to see if they mesh, and hopefully they do sooner rather than later.
Meier-Hischier-Mercer, Once Again
Nico Hischier spent a lot of time centering Meier and Mercer last season, and it appears as though that line will remain intact for 2025-26 as well. They’ve lined up together all preseason, and the early returns have been promising. Again, it’s a microscopic sample during exhibition games so all the caveats still apply, but per NST, this line looked great together in the preseason. In two games and 25:19 of 5-on-5 ice time, the Hischier trio posted a ludicrous 80.32% xGF%. They out-attempted, outshot, and outscored their opposition. They were truly dominant together.
The big difference with this line when compared to the new-look Hughes line, however, is that we do have a healthy sample size of regular season games to draw from. In 2024-25, at 5-on-5 these three played 264:01 together. In that time, they won the puck possession battle, though not to the extent you might want to see. Their xGF%, CF%, and SCF% all came in right around 51%, while their High Danger Corsi For% was a little better at 53%. Those are decent but not spectacular numbers. They did outscore their opponents 9-4 though, which is dominant.
But while these numbers are not spectacular, at least we do have some proof of concept that this line can work well together, especially considering the brutal competition they faced a season ago. If this line can win their matchups against the opposition’s best every night, the rest of the lineup theoretically can feast on depth players. Let’s hope the preseason is a sign of things to come.
Glass Is The Third Line Center
One of the biggest questions facing New Jersey entering the offseason was how they were going to overhaul the bottom half of their forward group. The complete lack of offense they got from that part of the roster was untenable, it was arguably the single biggest reason why their season derailed in the second half and into the playoffs. And more specifically than finding an answer to the bottom six in general, general manager Tom Fitzgerald needed to find an answer to the question of who was going to be the team’s third line center.
The answer, it appears, is Cody Glass.
Once the free agency frenzy ended, it looked like a two-man race between him and Mercer for the 3C job. In the preseason, Mercer was reunited with Hischier and Meier, while Glass has been centering Palat and Brown, so I think it’s safe to say Keefe wants Glass to start out anchoring the third line.
On paper, the trio of Palat-Glass-Brown is intriguing to me. Those three offer a lot of defensive ability, Glass and Brown especially. Brown provides a ton of speed and forechecking capability too, which is another wrinkle this line can throw at opponents. I’m worried about how much offense this unit can provide though, there’s not a whole lot of offensive upside here at all.
But if this can be a legit shutdown line that can take pressure off of Hischier, then they will be valuable even if they don’t chip in a ton of points. Glass has that potential, it’s something I wrote about over the summer. If he can make good on that promise, this could be a terrific third line.
Gritsyuk And Cotter: Secret Weapons?
Down on the fourth line, it appears Keefe will go into the season with Paul Cotter and Gritsyuk on the wings. Who centers that line remains to be seen, though it does look like Luke Glendening has taken advantage of his PTO enough to make the team and secure the 4C job. Whoever is down the middle though, they will have a very skilled pair of wingers to work with.
I don’t think a lot of us wanted to see Gritsyuk on the fourth line to open the season. A lot of us had visions of him holding it down on the third line, or perhaps even riding shotgun next to Hughes or Hischier in the top six. But I have to admit, having him and Cotter down on the fourth line could pay huge dividends.
Gritsyuk has played a ton this preseason, and according to Natural Stat Trick, he’s won the puck possession battle handily. His 5-on-5 xGF% was just north of 55%, and he out-attempted and outscored his opposition as well. By the eye test, he showed off that terrific shot we’ve heard so much about, and he’s more than kept up with the pace of NHL play. He looks ready for the North American game. Meanwhile, Paul Cotter provides a ton of speed, skill, and toughness, even if his hockey IQ limits his ultimate upside.
New Jersey was starved for depth scoring in 2024-25, but if Gritsyuk and Cotter show as much chemistry in the regular season that they did in the preseason, then they could be the team’s secret weapon on the fourth line.
Siegenthaler-Hamilton Is Back
Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton have spent a lot of time together during their shared time in New Jersey. Over the past three seasons, they’ve played a whopping 1345:54 at 5-on-5 as a pairing. In that time, they’ve posted an xGF% of 54.75%. Their CF% is right around 55%, and they’ve outscored their opponents 73-53. Each of them has struggled through their fair share of injuries and dips in performance, but the larger body of work is clear: Siegenthaler-Hamilton is a defense pairing that works.
Which is why I was encouraged to see Keefe put these two back together this preseason. Siegenthaler paired with Johnny Kovacevic to make a truly formidable shutdown pairing in 2024-25, but with Kovacevic on the shelf for at least a couple months, Keefe had to pivot. He pivoted back to the Ol’ Reliable of the Devils blueline, and if past performance is any indication, this pairing should provide a ton of value to the Devils for as long as they are paired together.
Hughes-Pesce Is In Limbo For Now
At the time of this writing, Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce, New Jersey’s most used defense pairing at 5-on-5 last season, had yet to combine for one practice rep or preseason game. This was mostly because of Hughes’ contract holdout (which came to a merciful end on October 1st), but even with Hughes now signed, we still haven’t seen them together yet thanks to Pesce’s injury he suffered in the Devils’ preseason game on Thursday. According to Ryan Novozinsky at NJ.com, Keefe was uncertain if Pesce would be ready for the season opener, but Pesce’s own dad seemed to confirm on Twitter that his son is fine. So I suppose that’s mostly good news, but it’s still a situation that bears monitoring.
Between Hughes’ holdout and Pesce’s injury, I wouldn’t be surprised if this duo needed a few games to get back up to speed together. But given how the other pairs have shaken out in the preseason, Hughes-Pesce will in fact be reunited to begin this season. Let’s hope they pick up right where they left off.
Nemec’s Next Big Chance
Kovacevic’s injury opened the door for Simon Nemec, who looks to be starting the season on the third pair with Brenden Dillon. We all know the struggles Nemec went through in 2024-25, so I won’t go over it again here. But other than pulling a Severson in the preseason game on Thursday, Nemec has looked excellent during the exhibition slate. In four preseason games and 78 minutes of 5-on-5 play, Nemec’s big underlying numbers (xGF%, CF%, SCF%, HDCF%) clocked in around 60% across the board. Meanwhile he outscored his competition 4-2. All the usual preseason caveats apply, but those are terrific numbers. And anecdotally, based on my own personal eye test, Nemec looks faster, more confident, and smarter and more decisive in his decision-making. His game is all about subtle little manipulations, whether that be with his eyes, hands, or skates. He showed off that subtly-effective game in the preseason, and as long as Kovacevic is hurt, Nemec appears to be the sixth man on the blueline.
I mentioned Damon Severson in a negative connotation in the last paragraph, but I would be remiss if I did not mention how big a role Severson played in the franchise-record setting 2022-23 campaign. Pushed down to the third pair, Severson absolutely obliterated softer competition, posting a 5-on-5 xGF% of 60.23% while outscoring his opponents 60-50. It can’t be overstated how important it is to be able to roll three strong defense pairings. If Nemec can play the role of Severson this season, being deployed in sheltered minutes and thoroughly dominating that assignment, that will go a long way toward returning New Jersey to the top of the Eastern Conference.
Extras And Injuries
We still have yet to get full clarity (lineups don’t have to be finalized until 5pm today, after all), but all indications are that Luke Glendening won the 4C competition in camp. I expect New Jersey to sign him to a one-year deal at or close to league minimum.
Elsewhere, Arthur Staple has reported that Shane Lachance has made the team. Coming off a good run at Boston University, Lachance is a big body who will presumably be the first man in if there are injuries.
Speaking of injuries, Stefan Noesen aggravated a groin injury during the offseason, and it looks like he won’t begin the year in the lineup as he recovers. He was on the ice this weekend though, so his return appears to be on the horizon.
Juho Lammikko has been dealing with his own injury, but he could still make the team and serve as the 13th or 14th forward next to Lachance.
On defense, the battle for the seventh defenseman spot appears to be down to Seamus Casey and Dennis Cholowski. I think I would prefer Cholowski gets the nod, primarily so Casey can get big minutes in Utica instead of rot in the press box.
The last move of note here is that Nico Daws was waived with the intention of getting him through to Utica over the weekend. We will find out today if he cleared or if another team claimed him. I will be sad to see Daws go if another team claimed him, I hope he remains in the organization.
Final Thoughts And Your Take
And there you have it, this is what appears to be the Devils’ opening night lineup. After all the offseason think pieces, all the internet speculation, all the armchair GMing, this is what Fitzgerald and the Devils braintrust has decided to put together to enter the 2025-26 season. Is this a team that is capable of making the playoffs? Certainly. Is this a team capable of winning the division? Outside shot, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Is this a team capable of hoisting the Stanley Cup in June? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?
In any case, I am excited for another season of New Jersey Devils hockey. All the good and the bad, the exciting and the infuriating, I am ready for it all. I can’t wait to share another campaign with you all.
What do you make of this lineup as we enter opening week? Is there anything you’d change about these configurations? What part of the lineup concerns you the most? What part of the lineup excites you? As always, thanks for reading!