New Jersey Devils offload Ondrej Palat in cap-saving swap with New York Islanders
Maxim Tysplakov profiles similarly to Palat but at a much lower cost.
The New Jersey Devils made their first trade of the season Tuesday night, sending Ondrej Palat – and a pair of draft picks (3rd in 2026, 6th in 2027) – to the New York Islanders in exchange for winger Maxim Tysplakov.
Palat is set to earn $6 million through the 2026-27 season while Tysplakov has the same length remaining at a much more palatable $2.25 million cap hit.
The Devils did not retain any money in this deal, meaning they were able to clear $3.75 million off their books for this season and next.
Palat was a loyal soldier for the Devils and very well respected within the organization.
Unfortunately, his hard work and locker room presence didn’t justify anything close to the $6 million price tag attached to his name.
His production in New Jersey was disappointing throughout his entire tenure but the outputs were at least semi-respectable over his first three seasons.
Palat flirted with a 40-point pace in his debut campaign, he had 31 points in his second season, and scored 15 goals in his third. He also had some big moments in the playoffs, most notably against the New York Rangers.
This season, though, there is no defending his play. He has just four goals through 51 games despite spending some time in the top-6 and extensive time in the top-9.
He provided the Devils with 0.82 points per 60 minutes of 5v5 play, tying him for 253rd among 264 forwards who have played at least 500.
Those outputs are beyond problematic for a $6 million player who doesn’t play regularly on any special teams unit (Palat ranks 11th on the Devils in PP TOI and 14th in PK TOI).
A non-existent offensive game and minimal special teams impact explain why his WAR has fallen off a cliff — and why the contract became untenable.
