Should the Devils Move on from Ondrej Palat?

While many sources have predicted Ondrej Palat to be on the top line for the New Jersey Devils as we approach the upcoming season, others are speculating whether or not the Devils should be trading him off the team as a whole. Palat’s no-move clause changed to a partial no-trade clause this offseason, leading many to believe he was almost certainly going to be traded. The Devils currently have just under seven million dollars in cap space available; however, there’s still plenty left that they want to do. Namely, Luke Hughes has yet to re-sign with the team, something Tom Fitzgerald described as the top priority this summer. With this in consideration, should New Jersey be thinking about trading Palat?

There’s a lot that the Devils want to fix before the upcoming season, but their limited cap space makes that difficult, especially since they’re prioritizing Luke Hughes and giving him a good contract. They still have several spaces they want to fill to bolster their lineup, so seven million dollars may not be enough for what they have in mind. If the Devils were to trade Palat, that would open up six million dollars in their available cap space. With this, they would have enough money to give Hughes the contract he’s looking for and bring on a new player, specifically another forward, to improve their top six.

In addition to the money problem surrounding the Devils and their plans for the team, there’s no denying that Palat’s performance has been declining, and it doesn’t seem like it will be on the rise any time soon. Palat played with the Tampa Bay Lightning for 10 seasons before the Devils acquired him in 2022. During his first season with the team, Palat suffered a groin injury, which already limited his experience with the team. Additionally, in the 2024-2025 season, he recorded more than double the number of giveaways than he had in the previous season. Palat has been nothing but an inconsistent player in the past few years with the team, so keeping him on the team when they could be using the money to sign more powerful and consistent players who will uphold the idea for the team moving forward might be a better option for the Devils.