It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. We’re in the middle of the Stanley Cup Final, but we have plenty of rumours to discuss. The focus may be on the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. However, the other 30 teams in the league still have stuff to sort out. There are decisions that need to be made on which players to sign and for how much. Both restricted and unrestricted free agents will be seeking to cash in July 1.
One of these teams that needs to decide some of their RFAs is the New Jersey Devils. This edition of NHL rumours deals with the Devils trying to re-sign a pair of defencemen that will be RFAs come July 1.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
New Jersey Devils Keen to Re-sign Young Blueliners
Rumour: Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com looked at what the Devils might do in the coming off-season. Defenceman Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec are RFAs, but general manager Tom Fitzgerald is making re-signing them a priority.
Analysis: The Devils didn’t get as far as they wanted to this season after a plethora of late-season injuries. New Jersey did make it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a disastrous 2023-24 campaign, but the wheels came off at the end. This culminated with a loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
However, they do have to young defenders that will hopefully be the cornerstones for their backend. Both Hughes and Nemec took big steps forward. The younger Hughes brother totaled 44 points in 71 games this season.
Hughes did only appear in one playoff game do to a shoulder injury. He had surgery on his shoulder on April 30.
Nemec collected saw limited action this season with 27 games played. However, the latter is hoping to figure into the Devils’ plans more. Next season could be a chance for Nemec to solidify his place in New Jersey’s lineup.
What It Means
Fitzgerald was at the scouting combine hosted by the Buffalo Sabres last week. However, he said that the team has already been talking to a number of player agents and that’s a good sign. New Jersey’s GM added that it was ” just trying to figure out what’s best for Luke and for us and how do we make our team better with the funds that we have available.”
The Devils do have a number of UFAs to make decisions on in the coming weeks. Players like Jake Allen, Nathan Bastian, Brian Dumoulin and Dennis Cholowski among others could hit the open market if not signed by July 1. Tomas Tatar has already decided to sign in Europe and not return to the club.
New Jersey has to decide what holes to fill and how to fill them. Signing Hughes and Nemec will be high on the agenda, but other players are needed to help fill out the roster.
Getting back to the post-season was a big step forward for the Devils. However, they’ll want to build on that and not have the ending they had.
Main photo by: James Guillory-Imagn Images
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