The NJ Devils Offseason is underway. General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is looking to revamp his team for the 2025-26 NHL Season:
– The offseason began with signing Juho Lammikko, who has played in Switzerland for the last 3 seasons.
– Erik Haula was traded to the Nashville Predators, freeing up $3.15M in cap space.
– Who else could be moved to free up more cap space?
– Could the NJ Devils be active in the trade market?
– What New Jersey Devils pieces do I think would be most likely to be traded?
– Is any of this connected to Quinn Hughes?
I discuss all of this and more in this video.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
See our other videos for Devils Coverage!
Subscribe for more Devils content to come!:
https://www.youtube.com/@runninwiththedevils?sub_confirmation=1
Follow us on Spotify:
Follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/runninwiththenjdevils/
Follow us on X:
https://x.com/runninwithnjd
Follow us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Runnin-With-The-Devils/61560358358234/
Shop Fanatics:
https://fanatics.93n6tx.net/PyXnOq
Shop My Devils Favorites on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/runninwiththedevils
Cash App:
https://cash.app/$RunninWithTheDevils
Venmo:
https://venmo.com/u/RunninWithTheDevils
#njdevils #newjerseydevils #devils #jackhughes #quinnhughes #njdevilsnews #newjerseydevilsnews #njdevilsupdates #newjerseydevilsupdates #njdevilspodcast #newjerseydevilspodcast #runninwiththedevils #nhl #hockey #tomfitzgerald
42 Comments
Watd u think of the marchment trade? i would have taken him i think hes only making around 4 mil amd he went for a 3rd and 4th rounder. He is big and plays physical
Im worried fitz is just gonna resighn glass to be our 3c and make some bottom six additions which would in no way make this team a true contender…
You are so right, the Devs do need dawgs. With that said I would tender Mercer with a pick and see what's out there def for Tuch that would be amazing
After that move fitz was like yep my job is done lol. Watch him only give luke a bridge deal. I've lost my faith in fitz.
How bout using some of last offseason's additions? Kovy just got resigned but how bout Noesen, Cotter, and Dillon?
Even with them being added we're still a bit lacking in the grit department, so in my opinion I wouldn't trade them unless we're getting someone of equal or greater toughness
I think if we add one more top 6 with some grit/scoring and totally gut reno our bottom 6 then we'll be fine.
Jack is only good for 60 games.
Mercer is the least of our problems . He is a work horse , a solid 3rd liner . Hamilton and Palat are expensive dead weight . They MUST be moved this offseason
You'd be crazy to trade, Dougie. Like Lou used to say, you can never have too many defensemen.
They need to get back to the 112 season with more jam and last years defense.
Devils bring in Marner,Tkachuk,Q. Hughes, Kyrou, 😂 JK but if Lazar is gone which is looking likely ill miss that guy
I still don't think quinn is ever coming here. I doubt he even considers it much
They should keep Nemic. He's gonna be a stud.
Ace, you perfectly sum up why this franchise will be going nowhere with this front office. What is there to say that Fitzgerald has the ability or stones to make the necessary moves to truly make this team a contender? He’s been here 5 years now. Anything he has that’s truly good, he inherited. I guess you can give him Timo, but like you said, that was a brainless move. This is not to doom but I really can’t understand how anyone has any faith in this management team. All Fitzgerald has proven to be really good at it is handing out movement clauses to everyone.
As a WNY'er that goes to 4-5 sabres games a year, would love to see Tuch in NJ. It's a guaranteed cup run with the Sabres curse, Eichel,Okposo, Jeff Skinner
Mercer has just kind of plateaued hard in my opinion. He's not at all terrible but people want to move on from him as there's no signs of improvement besides that insane season.
Replacing him wouldn't be easy but I wouldn't be bummed at the idea.
Two d-men making 9 million each is a bit concerning.
Im not hating on dougie the worry is once we pay we luke were gonna b close to almost 40 mil of our cap paid on our backend thts alot of space…
Hate to double comment but your thoughts on Mercer,Palat and or Nemec to ottawa for Cozens, future considerations and Zertterlund? I know they just signed Zetts but ya never know. It would offload the palat contract and address our C3 and bottom six grit. Just playing armchair GM. Yes its a lateral move financially but better producers and younger
If they don’t win now, they will lose the Hughes brothers and Nico Hischier. These guys want to win while they still can.
Call up buff for jj peterka and or tuch
Looks like you've been getting some sun.
Great take / summary, Ace.
Thanks for the offseason content 🫡😈 #LGD
We can use another top 6 winger but the real need is bottom 6 players who can contribute SOMETHING offensively.
Noesen was scoring at the start of the season. We felt like a much better team when he was a threat on the pp.
Haula, Palat, Bastian, Lazar were useless. Mercer and Cotter were inconsistent at best.
The guys I miss most right now are Zetterlund and McLeod.
Evander kane will be traded he's good for 2 years
Send dougie away, get Quinn, sign Marner. Cup is ours
Love the content but hate the offseason and speculating. Almost afraid to see what moves Fitz makes next. Touchy subject but Michael McCleod verdict may be coming on the 24th. Will be interesting to see what the Devils do if he is found not guilty. If he is a guilty hope he gets the maximum sentence.
It pains me saying im ok with dougie going….he is consistently hurt.
Pump the brakes. Its to overpay papermache brother Luke. LOL.
Its FITZ we are talking about. Mr one and done, Mr teams "harder to play against", Mr prices were too high, Mr Five years teams worse.
Shall we continue ? FITZ is a PUTZ.
Florida found quite a few of there guys from waivers and U/RFA being dumped by their previous teams. It’s pretty amazing how everything came together for them in the past 3-4 years. Obviously Matt was the icing on the cake, followed by the coach, etc. Devils need to do the same. Management needs to smarten up and stop spending big on players past their prime or hoping small skilled players can stay healthy for up to 109 games. Florida has Cap space to resign players even after going back to back. Devils are strapped after limping into the playoffs. Devils are talking about putting all their eggs into an injury prone basket for the next 8-10 years. We don’t even have a star/veteran goalie long term. I’m not even sure anymore if we are going to see Jack in the Olympics. Unless he has an injury free first half of the season and puts up points like he can. Who knows with these guys anymore. No one else in the league seems to be able to replicate what Matt and Brady bring to their teams and they aren’t coming to NJ, lol. Who do we get for our character driving player? I think Nico is a lot like Barkov, quiet and leads by example. Nico needs a rat or pest like Barkov has Matt and Brad, even Bennett. Timo can be a pest, but he needs the team to back him up, which they don’t. Timo can be a Conn Smythe winner on the right team. We have a good defensive core, get the right players around Nico, Bratt and Timo. That’s how I see it. I want to see Jack be the best player the NHL has ever seen, but I’m losing faith in his ability to stay healthy and be a factor in the playoffs. McDavid got shut down again…
The first question Fitz needs to ask possible signings is- Did you watch the Panthers for the last 2 seasons and are you able/willing to play their style?
If there is any head scratching, delay in answer or they say no, show them the door.
$9M long term L Hughes deal leaving $5.4M is not enough when we only have 10 forwards under contract right now. Or in other words, I'm thinking a long term Hughes deal only works if we dump more cap, ideally before 7/1 free agency.
Completely agree man . Starting from the back , give Daws his shot with Marky starting. Gotta use a d prospect to make a move for a big top 6 guy . Everything else is shoring up the bottom 6 . If that means moving Dougie to get some real top 9 help I’m down .
Edit: those Huberdeau moves you were talking about means Jack being moved tbh which won’t happen. I’d rather see Jack moved over Timo and Bratter especially
Spot on Ace, I couldn’t agree more with your take. Tuch has been high on my list of wants for some time. We all saw what it takes to make a deep run, Fitzy needs to make it happen come July. Can’t wait for Devils hockey! LGD!
Suter & Mangiapane are going to be the big moves this summer for the Devils. Palat gets bought out, Glass at $1.5, Allen walks…
Ace, I wanted to bounce a thought i had by you, we know Fitz is a very calculated man and I believe he's big on value in the moves he makes. I was wondering, what if ole booze face is kicking all the tires and the price to make that big move – the one that makes the team better- is too high where we pay a lot to only improve bu a margin or two? I think he'll do his best to shed cap and fill out the roster, but, and here is what I'm thinking, imagine a situation where he looks to make that bigger move in season or at the deadline? I think in season, players like mercer and Hamilton will have higher value, plus it gives the players the chance to prove their worth (mercer after a down year, Hamilton post injury) both risky players from an outside gms pov especially if it comes to moving a big piece.
its gonna be a big offseason, I hope, the key to these retools is patience as much as none of us wanna hear that. The Capitals are the blueprint for this kind of thing imo. They took their time, they targeted project type players they were confident would fit and they could develop and look at them now. I think thats a similar path the Devils are about to take, I want and I'm still holding out hope for Mitch Marner, but there are a ton of names that I think would be great on the Devils. Tuch is one we agree on for sure, he can flex to Center as well. Rossi is one I think can do very well here, I understand the concerns around his size. I think we're gonna see a big overhaul in the bottom 6 and then probably just one of the names we've seen floating around and then the Devils will kinda wait and see, who becomes available as the season plays out, who needs a change of scenery, who's unhappy where and Fitz hopefully will skip his hibernation this year and pounce.
Idk about you ace, but i have got a really weird gut feeling that as soon as July 1st hits. Fitz is gonna do something big. idk how you feel but July 1st but my guts telling me something big may or can happen, but we will only know when July 1st comes.
I’m with you man, but I’m just so worried we’re seeing history repeat itself, and Fitz won’t do enough. We should have been heavily in the mix a lot last year with some of the names. Not saying all additions were disappointing of course, (I still love Marky, and people who don’t should study goaltending.) I knew Marchand would be a difference maker, and is exactly what this team needed last year. Number one most important player for us this offseason though is a power forward. Casey and Nemec are great, but I’m not adverse to trading them for that piece. As someone said in the live we need another Arnold or Holik. Unfortunately it was also correctly said, by you I believe, less of those guys in the new NHL. (And I doubt Seattle will part with Shane Wright, who is a younger player who fits that big forward description.)
Great vid, your hockey knowledge is always really impressive. We not only need a skritty forward but we need someone fast to play with Jack and Bratter, someone who can keep up.
Honestly have no clue what Fitz is planning and I wish I did. Can’t believe free agency hasn’t even started yet… it is gonna be a long offseason.
Agree with the Dougie thing 100% people are kind of dumb “oh Luke was good when he was injured” he’s still really young and is still developing… and having Nemec take on some of that responsibility would be crazy.
The domino thing you said is exactly what I feel like is happening. Like these moves have to be in correlation with the others and I feel like he’s ramping up for something.
I'm not worried about Glass' $2.5M qualifying offer. As long as the Devils talk to Glass first, they could absolutely not qualify him, let him hit free agency, and sign him cheaper, just like the Devils did with Bastian a few years ago. If Glass truly want a chance to prove himself and stay with a team that could be a contender
in a year or two, then staying here is a good option for him.