How the Devils Benefit from the Cap Space Increase
With the season coming to an end for New Jersey, their offseason has begun. Their season may have ended early due to injuries, but this offseason is massive for the Devils. General manager Tom Fitzgerald may have been far from perfect with this team, but he has still done a good job with the core players. Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt are all locked in until 2030 or later, which shows Fitzgerald knows what he’s doing with this core. As the offseason commences, the NHL will soon get much more interesting now that some salary cap increases will be taking place through the next few seasons. For the 2025-26 season, there’s to be a seven and a half million dollar increase, eight and a half million in the 2026-27 season, and finally a nine and a half million for the 2027-28 season. It’s a tight-cap world these NHL teams live in, and this can benefit New Jersey insanely, especially with the talent they already have locked up.
This offseason, there’s no reason they should not discuss an extension for Luke Hughes and Johnathan Kovacevic. New Jersey is definitely challenged with navigating this, but can finally breathe easier with the increase as they make their decisions. A potential decision could include, perhaps, letting Kovacevic walk, putting their trust more in Simon Nemec, which gives them more money to put to more forwards. With their prospect Arseni Gritsyuk preparing for his start next season, any potential decision would still leave them with room for an extension, especially with other prospects. The Devils have a fair number of forwards who can surely shoot the puck, but how about another defenseman with a shot that most teams fear? This increase makes it more likely that New Jersey will get even more frightening by obtaining the third and final Hughes brother to their team.
Fans have seen for a while that Vancouver isn’t having the best luck. Just after the 2026-27 season, the captain Quinn Hughes’ contract ends, giving him the chance of what he wants: playing with his brothers. Just one season later, defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be an unrestricted free agent, leaving New Jersey in search of another defenseman with an offensive push. In a few seasons, Luke Hughes will surely be much more developed, leaving the thought of him and his brother Quinn for multiple seasons already giving fans nightmares, no doubt. While there’s no confirmation that this will indeed happen just yet, rumors have been flooding in like crazy that Quinn refuses to stick around. The 25-year-old defenseman wants to play with his brothers, so who are the Devils to deny him that wish? New Jersey has shown they are willing to spend the money, now, all that matters is making the right decisions, especially with their core players locked in. This offseason is massive, fans pray they do not mess this up.
