Devils 2026-27 Roster Projection 1.0: Pre-Free Agency Additions

The free agency market is about to open, and the excitement for the 2026-27 season is palpable. As teams get ready to make sure they have the best team construction possible, let’s take a look at an early roster projection for the New Jersey Devils for the upcoming season.

There will be several versions of this piece, which is why it is labeled as 1.0. This is the pre-free agency roster projection.

Forwards

Using PuckPedia as a guide, here is a look at what some of the lines could look like.

• Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown 
• Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
• Arseni Gritsyuk – Cody Glass – Evan Rodrigues
• Jesper Boqvist – Nick Bjugstad – Stefan Noesen

Pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs): Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Paul Cotter

For the top six, the Devils aren’t changing much. They have the same core in Jesper Bratt, Jack Hughes, and Connor Brown on the first line. The trio had a great run in the 2025-26 season, and although there’s a chance players could move around, it would be great to see this group remain the same.

Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer are ready to make up the second line. Mercer slotted into the second after several players remained out with injury, and he had a good performance. Let’s see if he can keep that up and stay in the top six to kick off the new season.

The bottom six is where it starts to get a little dicey. Arseny Gritsyuk, Cody Glass, and newcomer Evan Rodrigues would make up the third line. Gritsyuk was playing in the top six, and although he could sub out for either Brown or Mercer, he just underwent surgery to fix an upper-body injury. There is a high likelihood head coach Sheldon Keefe wants to limit Gritsyuk’s minutes to ensure he doesn’t reaggravate it.

The Devils now have newcomer Rodrigues as well. They just acquired him from the Florida Panthers in the trade for Jacob Markstrom. We’ll have to see how the chemistry within the group pans out. Rodrigues was also a top-line player with the Panthers, so he could also sub out for either Brown or Mercer.

Finally, on the fourth line, the Devils would have Jesper Boqvist, Nick Bjugstad, and Stefan Noesen. Boqvist was a part of the Markstrom trade and previously played with the Devils for four seasons before he hit the free agent market. All three are strong veteran players, but how the pair works together will have to be seen in training camp.

The Devils have the foundation for their forward group, but the makeup of the lines is still up in the air. This is also pending that there are no additional trades throughout the free agency period.

Defense

• Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
• Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce
• Brenden Dillon – Johnathan Kovacevic

Pending UFAs: Dennis Cholowski

Even though the Devils traded Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames, they still have six defensemen signed for the upcoming 2026-27 season. The defensive core isn’t changing much, with the pairings relatively staying the same as it was last season. The Devils dealt with several injuries throughout the 2025-26 season and had to keep resting players. Hopefully, they can all stay healthy throughout the season, especially since they don’t have a seventh NHL-ready defenseman available.

Goaltenders

With the news that Markstrom has been traded to the Panthers, Jake Allen is currently poised to be the Devils’ starting goaltender. Allen played in 37 games last season and went 17-17-2. He has NHL experience, just three games shy of 500 career games, but whether or not the Devils management feels he is ready to be the starter is up in the air.

At this point, with Allen as the starting goaltender, Nico Daws is primed to take the secondary spot. He only had the opportunity to play in three games last season and earned a record of 2-1-0. Daws has 55 NHL games under his belt, and now that he could potentially be the backup goaltender, he could finally get more ice time. Daws is also a restricted free agent (RFA), but he received a qualifying offer from the Devils. This could put the goaltending situation in limbo even more.

With free agency just around the corner, there is a chance that the Devils pick up another goaltender. With Markstrom heading to Florida and the Panthers picking up Akira Schmid the day prior, Sergei Bobrovsky will hit the free agent market. Are they trying to target him, or is there another goaltender New Jersey has their sights on? Or will they stay content with Allen and Daws as their goaltending duo?

Mehta Is Trending in the Right Direction

General manager Sunny Mehta just landed in the position, but already he has been making big moves to get the Devils in a position to have a strong start to the 2026-27 season. There is still plenty of time left in the offseason, but this lineup is where things stand for right now.