New Jersey Devils Q&A - August 18, 2025

I answered your questions re: Jack Hughes, center insurance, team prospect rankings, and more.

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It’s been some time since I last run a Q&A post. With *checks notes* absolutely nothing happening in the NHL, now seemed like a good time to do another.

Let’s get right to your New Jersey Devils questions.

Q: What's the biggest need to make us better: Simon / luke taking steps to become real top D or a top 6 winger / elite 3C?

Both are important but I’ll lean a little heavier towards an external addition.

Simon Nemec taking a step this season would absolutely be beneficial but there’s probably not a world in which he logs 20+ minutes or produces a bunch of points even if we see a real jump. Luke Hughes is a consistent 45+ point contributor and his defensive game has grown a lot so he’s already a needle mover.

Adding Jared McCann to the top-6 or having Ryan O’Reilly, let’s say, step in as the 3C+ in favor of Cody Glass does more to improve the team’s floor and ceiling than a natural and expected step from Nemec and/or Hughes.

That said, both are necessary if the Devils truly want to contend.

Q: Are you comfortable with the current center depth? Assuming that they dont trade for an additional C over summer, who should the Devils target for a mid season acquisition to boost the center depth?

I’m comfortable in that if Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier combine to play 85%+ of possible games, which has been the case three of the past four years, the Devils are plenty good enough to get through the bulk of the regular season and comfortably hold onto a playoff spot.

I would not be comfortable moving past the deadline with the center picture as currently constructed, though. Cody Glass doesn’t bring enough offense to fill a top-6 role if an injury arises and I prefer Dawson Mercer on the wing.

Identifying trade targets will be easier in-season once games are played and we know which teams will be selling. That being said, we can guess which teams won’t be all that great now.

Jared McCann (top-6W who can play some C if necessary), Ryan O’Reilly (3C+), and Mikael Backlund (3C who can take some defensive weight off Nico Hischier) are three players I’ll be monitoring.

Q: How comfortable are you going into the season without someone to take Jack's place not if but when he gets hurt?