As the calendar prepares to turn to 2026, it’s typically the time for people to reflect on what they accomplished in 2025 and set new goals for the coming year. The New Jersey Devils were off to a great start for the 2025-26 season, but have since been coming around the bend from a rough patch. Of course, this is all a team effort, but there are definitely some players who could step up their performance in the new year for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. Let’s take a look at those three players.
Lack of Offensive Power: Ondrej Palat
The Devils’ offense has taken a hit this season, after several players exited the lineup with an injury. Jack Hughes was out for 18 games with a hand injury, and Evgenii Dadonov broke his hand in the Devils’ season opener. He returned to the lineup on Nov. 18 and played a total of four games before exiting with another injury. After only playing five games with his new team this season, this was a tough break for Dadonov.
While several players haven’t performed to the best of their ability due to the circumstances of not being able to play, others have just been lacking offensive power, period. Ondrej Palat has played in all 38 games for the Devils this season and has recorded a measly seven points, including two goals and five assists. For a player playing in the top six, he hasn’t been performing well.
Palat has moved around a bit in the lineup, but has consistently been in the top six. After Hughes exited with his injury, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer moved up to the first line, while Jesper Bratt and Palat moved down to the second line. Even though Hughes is back, the three are still playing on the second line. With the success Hischier, Meier, and Mercer have had, this only makes sense.
As the season progresses, Palat will need to step up his performance. He is in the fourth year of his five-year contract, which will expire when he turns 36. Sure, his age and the fact that he’s in his 14th NHL season are sure to slow down production. However, with the way the Devils have been playing, they need all the offensive power they can get, especially amongst the top-six forward group.
First Line of Defense: Dougie Hamilton
Obviously, a defenseman’s job is not to score, so the fact that he only has eight points (four goals and four assists) in 34 games is not the worst. However, the major red flag is the fact that Dougie Hamilton is a minus-5. At the end of the day, his job is to stop pucks. His defense partner, Jonas Siegenthaler, is not doing much better with a minus-6.
Hamilton and Siegenthaler are the Devils’ top defense pairing. When they are getting outplayed by the second and third pairings each game, this is not a good sign for their performance. With the return of Johnathan Kovacevic drawing nearer too, both Hamilton and Siegenthaler will need to step up their performance if they want to continue playing in New Jersey. With the Devils getting closer to hitting the cap limit, they will need to let some players go; this first defense pairing could be one of the players to hit the chopping block.
The Starting Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom
Although he is the Devils’ current starting goaltender, Jacob Markstrom hasn’t been playing like one. According to MoneyPuck, Markstrom is ranked 63rd out of the 84 goaltenders who have played so far this season. While his medium and high-danger shot percentage is above average, his low-danger shot percentage sits at minus-0.027.
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Markstrom is allowing too many easy goals, giving the Devils’ opponents easy scoring chances, which can cost New Jersey the game. Take the game on Dec. 23 against the New York Islanders, for example. In the middle of the second period, Markstrom exited the crease to try to clear the puck from the Islanders’ zone. Instead, he passed it straight to Simon Holmstrom, who skated up to the open net to tie the game. The Islanders ultimately won with a 2-1 final score. This game could have been an easy Devils win, or at least gone to overtime, but instead, Markstrom gave up an easy goal.
The Devils just signed Markstrom to a two-year extension last month, with an average annual value (AAV) of $6 million. With the way he has been performing, Markstrom is not living up to that contract.
Devils Need to Step Up in the New Year
Sure, there are some players who need to step up as the season continues, but the team needs to step up as a whole. The Devils will play one more game in the 2025 calendar year on Dec. 31, when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Devils will kick off 2026 with a Saturday matinee game hosting the Utah Mammoth. They will play a total of 15 games in January, including a four-game West Coast road trip. The Devils will have to dig deep to try to get back to the level of play that they had back in October.
