Devils' GM Mehta's Offseason Plan: Revamp Scouting, Target Top Free Agents

What does the perfect off-season look like for the New Jersey Devils? Thank you, as always, for reading the Devils’ Advocates Substack! If you enjoy the quasi-daily content, please consider subscribing and sharing with your friends, family, and any Devils fan you know. It is completely free of charge and helps out quite a bit! Consider checking out the Devils’ Advocates Podcast, which features weekly episodes chock-full of in-depth content and exciting guest appearances. They’ll be available on this Substack, but you can also listen on your favorite platforms at the following links: Devils’ Advocates is a completely free-of-charge publication. Put in your email below and press “subscribe” to receive updates when new posts become available. Sunny Mehta has a lot of work to do as the Devils’ new GM and autonomous decision-maker. It’s a lot of work coming at an organizational crossroads, too, being that the Devils have been largely disappointing in the three seasons following their franchise-record 2022-23 campaign. With that, though, I can only imagine that he is excited to get to grinding away at the off-season ahead, one that I would anticipate is aggressive and calculated, given the desire to be a Cup-contending team as soon as next season without sacrificing the long-term goals of the core’s window. I have put a lot of thought into what a perfect off-season might look like for the Devils, and, well, here’s what I came up with: Step 1: Revamp the Scouting Department & Front Office Undoubtedly so, as the NHL is typically strictly against trading during the playoffs, the Devils’ first moves will likely be front office-related. We have grown to know that the scouting department will have a lot of turnover, given that they have many individuals on expiring contracts, and Mehta’s ideology of using different methodologies in scouting (older, traditional scouts, young scouts, and plenty of data) should give cause to believe that the Devils will have a significant change in their scouting philosophy. Good. As far as other front office operations go, I’m sure there will be several pieces that stick around. I don’t think Martin Brodeur will be going anywhere, as he is seemingly only in an advisory role. I would anticipate one of the AGMs (presumably Kate Madigan of the two) staying in the organization as well. Past that, though, it’s all up in the air. Chuck Fletcher, the current senior advisor, is reportedly an analytics guy, but his resume of hockey moves shows either that that is simply an unsubstantiated rumor or that he has no idea what he’s doing with the data itself. To me, the Devils must add more data-driven individuals in areas all around the organization. I have a feeling that that’s important to Mehta as well, so I certainly anticipate a few hires/fires over the coming weeks in terms of the front office. Step 2: Make a Huge Swing At the Draft I think Mehta and the Devils are averse to keeping their first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. There are some appealing targets, to be sure — and ones that I will be writing about in preparation that the Devils keep the pick — like Viggo Bjorck, who is a top-7 talent but may fall by virtue of his size, Tynan Lawrence, whose college production may scare some scouts off, or even the typical 10-14 range players like Oscar Hemming, Ryan Lin, and Xavier Villeneuve, all of whom have appealing traits and high-ceiling NHL projectability. Still, I think the Devils want to compete now, and there is no better way to do so than taking a big swing involving not only the first-round pick they have, but some young, promising pieces. A package that includes Simon Nemec, Dawson Mercer, and the first-round pick should be absolutely tantalizing to another organization. Nemec is a former second-overall pick with undeniable offensive upside. He hasn’t found his defensive game yet, with in-zone habits and laziness that should definitely be a concern moving forward, and an analytical profile that has shown more or less nothing positive. Still, the pedigree and tools will be extremely appealing to other clubs. Mercer, who is still just 24 years old, has not missed a game in his NHL career and is a consistent 20-goal, 40-point, middle-six player who works his tail off. My concerns lie with his lack of playdriving ability on his own and the fact that he still hasn’t taken a true step forward, plateauing since his second year in the show. Those two players plus the Devils’ first-rounder, which has an 86% chance to be the 12th overall pick in the draft, should allow the Devils to go out and target pretty much any young (or relatively young) top-six forward in the league. A few names come to mind: Matthew Knies, Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Elias Pettersson. Let’s start with who is likely the most universally unappealing of the four in Elias Pettersson. The 27-year-old is coming off a 15-goal, 51-point campaign, marking his second consecutive well-below-point-per-game season in which he has scored just 15 goals. The $11.4 million AAV forward with full trade protections is certainly the very definition of a buy-low candidate. However… he was a consensus top-ten center in the league just prior to this sudden two-year drop-off. He has a 39-goal, 102-point season under his belt, and, despite the significant downtick in production in the last two years, is nearly a point-per-game player in his career (508 points in 545 games). Something just isn’t clicking in Vancouver, but that doesn’t mean that, as a buy-low candidate, he isn’t appealing. That Carolina has expressed interest in two consecutive seasons should tell you that the private under-the-hood numbers are extremely appealing, even with the setbacks. They’re a savvy organization, and EP40 very well may be worth the significant risk. Still, though, the two straight seasons of dismal production are nothing but concerning. Then, there’s Matthew Knies, whom the Maple Leafs were reportedly shopping at the trade deadline and may be traded during the summer. Knies, 23, is the quintessential top-six power forward that seemingly everyone in the Devils fandom thinks would be the missing puzzle piece. He’s speedy, gritty, and can score — he had 66 points (23 goals, 43 assists) in 79 games in 2025-26 while playing alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander. The problem for me with Knies is that his underlying statistics are extremely underwhelming, which gives me some concern that he’s just a glorified Mercer — a player who can contribute when playing alongside top players but who is unable to do much on his own. I also think that, given the quality of his teammates for much of the season, one would assume that he’d be scoring more than 66 points. I like Knies in concept, to be sure, but I’m not sure the astronomical price that GMs would put on him, given the archetype of him being a top-six power forward, would be worth it. That leaves the two St. Louis Blues forwards. You all know how much I like Jordan Kyrou at this point, so I won’t dwell too long on him. All I will say is that he is exactly everything the Devils should be looking for in a winger as far as speed, goal-scoring chops, and defensive aptitude are concerned. The only two problems are 1) his production this season was very poor, though he is a strong buy-low who likely wouldn’t cost all of Nemec, Mercer, and the first-rounder, and 2) he doesn’t take faceoffs and thus would be less helpful if one of 86/13 went down with injury. That being said, Robert Thomas is probably the pinnacle of what the Devils should be looking for. The 26-year-old put up 64 points in 64 games, his third consecutive point-per-game-plus season and his fourth in five years. He still has five years left on a contract worth well below what he should be getting, at $8.125 million AAV. His two-way impacts are pristine, and he is one of the best faceoff men in the league. As such, I think he should be the target of the Devils with a package reflecting what the reported ask was (three first-round level pieces/prospects/picks). Step 3: Extend Some Forwards, Not Others I’ve written ad nauseam of late on what some contract extensions will — or should — look like from an AAV point of view, naming Nico Hischier, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Paul Cotter in these exercises, and I think it’s particularly important that the first two names on that list get done sooner rather than later. Gritsyuk is under team control, to be clear, and Hischier still has one year left on his current contract, but shoring out the long-term outlook of the salary cap should be paramount. Hischier is eligible for an eight-year deal so long as it is inked prior to September 16th, when the new CBA kicks in. The AAVs that I came to for Hischier (eight years) and Gritsyuk (five years) are $11 million and $5 million, respectively. The latter’s original estimation was around $5.25 million for a medium-long-term deal, but I do think his injury to end the season will knock him down ever-so-slightly. That said, I do think Cotter’s ask will be too expensive for the player he is and what the Devils are looking for. I had him coming in at $1.25 million, but AFP Analytics is projecting his next deal to be two years at $2.5 million. I’m sure Cotter’s camp will be asking for more than I would want to give him, even if the shootout ability and skillset are genuinely appealing. I also don’t think it’s any secret, or even needs to be said, that Evgenii Dadonov will not be back. One player I do want to see back, based on a limited sample size, is Zack MacEwen, who, though he played in just three games in 2025-26 by virtue of two serious injuries, is exactly what the Devils need in a fourth liner. He is fast and skilled, physical and gritty and willing to mix it up, can contribute on the scoresheet, and has had excellent (albeit extraordinarily limited) underlyings. Plus, it’s exorbitantly likely that his contract is exactly league-minimum value, which will be $850,000 in 2026-27. The Devils definitely need to get some money off the books if they want to make a swing for a top-six piece, extend Nico Hischier to an eight-year contract, and have room for Quinn Hughes to come to New Jersey in free agency. Sounds like an extremely tall task, doesn’t it? Truth is, it’s really not that difficult. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. Two easy steps are to offload Maxim Tsyplakov and Stefan Noesen, who combine to make $5 million and are certainly not worth that value whatsoever. Tsyplakov was a nice way to get the Ondrej Palat contract off the books, but he isn’t a $2.25 million AAV player and will likely be getting shipped off somewhere because of it. His skills are somewhat appealing, with good speed and in-tight shooting abilities, and he does have a previous track record of being able to produce, so there could be a late-round pick to be had. I chose Chicago, which has ample cap space and a need for bodies in the roster. It could be any team, and there could be a draft pick coming back or not. Either way, Tsyplakov is a likely goner. Noesen is more difficult by virtue of his slightly higher cap hit ($2.75 million) and trade protections (of course), but that should be workable considering it’s just a seven-team no-trade list. One team that I had always associated him with was the Dallas Stars, as he has a house in the area and the Stars are typically always looking for ways to shore up their bottom six. Prior to 2025-26, Noesen had years of 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists), 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists), and 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists). To assume he has no value because he was injured this season, to me, is silly. Even if I don’t think his value is very high, I do think it’s reasonable to assume that he would be a target for many organizations (including Dallas) as a buy-low candidate. I think he could certainly fetch, say, a fifth-round pick. The rest of the cap, well, we can tie into step five: Step 5: Reconstruct the Defense Corps I’ve always believed that the Devils’ defensive group is their biggest issue and that they need to reconstruct it through and through. As much as I want Dougie Hamilton to maintain his stay in the Devils’ organization, I think it’s clear that the writing is on the wall for him to get dealt somewhere else. His agent made it clear that they are willing to work around the trade protections to get something done, and, as such, I do think that he would be open to just about anywhere. Hockey pundit David Pagnotta, who needs to be taken with a grain of salt, said recently that Hamilton would still prefer to be traded. Given the expanded scope of where he would be willing to go, I honestly think San Jose is an appealing target. For one, it’s a beautiful location. Secondly, he would get to play with the likes of Macklin Celebrini and all of the young talent they have in that organization. For San Jose, they’re an up-and-coming team and a defenseman like Dougie to put on their top pair and top power play unit would go a long way to expanding their offense. The power play utility alone would unlock a lot of options for them. I don’t think that Dougie will get the Devils what they deserve to get for a player of his caliber. The production in the second-half of the season was great for him, but it was still the lowest per-game total he has accrued since 2021-22. That said, he should still have real, tangible value, and I think that a GM like Mehta would be more inclined to understand that value. As such, I think the Devils could get something like this from San Jose: I have always believed that Hamilton is worth a first-rounder and much more. I’m also positive that the consensus on his value around the league is lower than that by a significant margin. Still, I think that they could reasonably get a package like this, one that involves two decent picks and a prospect who is projected to be a third-pair, two-way defenseman in a couple of seasons. To me, it’s a win-win given the circumstances. Secondly, one of Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnathan Kovacevic, or Brenden Dillon just has to go. The Devils need players who can move the puck from the back-end, and all three of them are somewhat unable to do so. Kovacevic has a full no-trade clause, but though Siegenthaler and Dillon have some trade protections, they are much more movable. Given prior track record of being a top-notch defensive asset, age, and skating ability, I think I would prefer to keep Siegenthaler, even though good-friend-of-the-Devils-Advocates-Substack Brenden Dillon had a genuinely strong 2025-26 season and he is an incredible person and locker room character to have. With that, I believe that Buffalo would be a strong fit, given their desire to be a more physically imposing team and the fact that they sought out a lesser player in Logan Stanley to be that guy. I also know that they had a prior interest in forward Paul Cotter, whom I chose not to extend in this hypothetical. I think the Devils could realistically get a pretty good return for those two guys: Originally, I had a first-rounder coming back in this deal, but after further deliberation (and pushback by my podcast cohost), a second-rounder felt more reasonable. Brodie Ziemer is a solid do-it-all forward prospect who could reasonably assume a third-line role in due time, but will likely need a couple of years of seasoning to get there. After these two trades, the Devils cleared an additional $13 million in cap space but now have two holes on defense to fill. I feel as though the free agent market is the best way to go for this. The first name that immediately came to mind as someone who can move the puck in second-pair minutes is now-Avalanche Nick Blankenburg. The former Nashville Predator has been putting up excellent two-way impacts for quite some time now, and he’s a strong candidate to sign a contract below what he is deserving of, given his underlying statistical profile and his diminutive (5’9, 177-pound) frame. Despite that size, there is a ton to like about his game on both sides of the puck: There’s obviously a lot to like here, but the scoop on Blankenburg is that he is an excellent playmaking defenseman who can chip in using his own shot without sacrificing anything defensively. According to Evolving Hockey, he ranked in the 69th percentile for offensive impact and the 68th percentile for defensive impact. Plus, he is only 27. His AFP Analytics contract projection came in at three years at $4.45 million per season, but I think that is way, way over what he is likely to get. He’s been an extra defenseman for Colorado during the playoffs, and was a seventh defenseman for them for a good chunk of time after he was acquired. As such, I think he realistically gets three years and $3 million per season. Then, there’s the hole on the third pair that was previously occupied by Dillon. This one requires a bit more nuance. Quinn Hughes, time and time again, has expressed a desire to play with his brothers. The writing has been on the wall for years, and was only further exacerbated by Jim Rutherford’s recent press conference in which he said he knew that Quinn would be leaving in free agency and insinuated that it would be to New Jersey to play with his brothers. If I were a Minnesota Wild fan, I would be shaking in my boots. As such, I think it would be prudent for Mehta and the Devils to sign a stopgap option who could conceivably play a two-way role in the bottom pair for a year. I settled on Ian Cole, who will be entering his age-38 season in 2026-27. The 6’1, near-240-pound defenseman has long had strong two-way underlying statistics, including a 2025-26 regular season in which he ranked in the 57th percentile for offensive impact and 87th percentile for defensive impact, according to Evolving Hockey. AFP Analytics has him getting a one-year deal worth around $3.3 million. Assuming he doesn’t stay in Utah, which he probably won’t given the slate of young, up-and-coming defensemen in their system (Dmitri Simashev, Maveric Lamoreux, and Artem Duda, to name three), he would be a good get for this stopgap role. Of course, the Devils would also need a seventh defenseman, and while I’m sure a Utica Comet could assume that role just fine (Ethan Edwards, Seamus Casey), I think it would be worthwhile to re-sign Colton White to a one-year deal worth slightly above league-minimum. He was excellent in his short stint in the NHL this season, and I would assume he would be just fine getting a $900,000 contract. Step 6: Grab Some Forward Depth With Thomas in and Mercer out, Gritsyuk and MacEwen extended, and Lenni Hämeenaho presumably reclaiming his spot on the third line, the Devils’ sole hole lies on the left flank of the fourth line. When listening to Mehta’s press conference, he told the story of how, in his first interview over a decade ago, he was handed a blank sheet of paper and asked how he would allocate the salary cap to different portions of the roster. Based on that and on how the Florida Panthers operated on keeping their fourth-line players at or near league-minimum value, I think it’s safe to say that the fourth line will be comprised of Nick Bjugstad, MacEwen, and a left-winger making a small salary. My personal cap on what I would want to give to a fourth-line player is $1.2 million, and even that is high. With that, though, there is also a chance for a two-fold reunion of sorts — AJ Greer will be an unrestricted free agent this season. He played 10 games in the NHL with the Devils from 2021-23 before eventually signing with the Panthers years later, where he played and won a Stanley Cup under Mehta. He has familiarity with a few players on the team already and has made a name for himself in Florida as an energetic fourth-liner who can chip in offensively. Seems like a perfect target, to me. It gets even more perfect when his next contract projection is taken into account, with AFP An