4 Devils Who Could Be on the Move This Offseason

Ondřej Palát isn't the only player the New Jersey Devils could part ways with this offseason. Here are 4 other candidates.

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On Wednesday, we reviewed Ondřej Palát's season and why it's time for the New Jersey Devils to move on. His play has fallen off a cliff, and they need to improve their roster. However, it's unlikely he's the only contract they'll have to move.

The Devils enter this offseason with around $13 million in cap space and have yet to sign Luke Hughes to an extension. That extension will likely come with a cap hit around $9 million, so other players besides Palát will have to go. Here are four other candidates.

Erik Haula

I wouldn't say the writing is on the wall for Haula as a Devil, but he is a prime candidate to move this offseason. He had a solid close to the regular season, finishing with ten points in his final 17 games, but his 2024-25 was largely a disappointment.

Haula closed his 2024-25 campaign with 11 goals and 21 points and had a long scoring drought during the middle of the season that extended for 28 games. Perhaps he was playing through an injury that limited his abilities, but it ultimately wasn't good enough.

Haula is entering the final year of his contract. He has a $3.1 million cap hit and a full no-trade clause that shifts to a six-team no-trade on July 1. I could see the Devils letting him play out the final year of his contract since he's probably still a capable fourth-liner, but they might just want change.

Unlike Palát, Haula's buyout is much more manageable. The Devils would have a dead cap hit of $1.55 million next season and $800,000 in 2026-27. That's one path to moving out his contract, but a trade also seems possible since his NTC becomes much less restrictive.

Dawson Mercer

Maybe we should be recalibrating our expectations for Mercer, but his last two seasons have been a disappointment. He finished with 20 goals and 33 points last season and essentially repeated that in 2024-25, totaling 19 goals and 36 points.

Mercer signed a three-year bridge deal last summer at a cap hit of $4 million. He's far from the worst contract the Devils have on their books, so I would not move him just for the sake of clearing the contract.