What I'd like to see from each New Jersey Devils defenseman in 2025-26

From Brenden Dillon to Jonas Siegenthaler, I commented on seven defenseman.

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Near the end of every off-season, I share my thoughts on each New Jersey Devils player and dive into what I’d like to see from them this coming season.

I already shared my thoughts on 14 different forwards (Part 1, Part 2). Now it’s time to comb through the blue liners.

Brenden Dillon: Stabilize defensively

Tom Fitzgerald signed Dillon in free agency for his defensive acumen and physicality. The latter showed up in Year 1 with the Devils. The former did not as Dillon was nowhere close to as stable as we saw in years prior.

Dillon’s even-strength defense was worth +1.03 WAR per 82 games from 2022-24 with Winnipeg. That ranked him 11th among all defensemen during that span.

He was legitimately excellent defensively and those numbers were produced in his 32 and 33-year-old seasons.

It’s normal to see players decline as they work further into their 30s but the dip we saw from Dillon last season was surprisingly large.

His ES defense was worth -0.1 WAR per 82 games and the Devils allowed 5v5 goals at a higher clip during his minutes than any other everyday defenseman on the team.

I don’t expect Dillon to reach the heights he did with Winnipeg but it’d be nice if his defensive impacts were able to rise back above ground.

Dougie Hamilton: Put the puck in the net

Hamilton was a goal scoring machine over his first two years with the Devils, particularly during 5v5 play. He scored 19 goals over 144 games and averaged 0.44 goals per 60 minutes.

His numbers cratered over the last two seasons. He scored just five goals over 84 games while averaging 0.22 goals per 60 minutes, half the rate we saw from 2021-23.

The Devils were starved for offense at 5v5 last year and, while they added scoring depth, they didn’t land a single player likely to truly move the needle in that game state.

They’re going to need more from the guys already rostered. Given Hamilton’s pedigree, salary, and a lack of offense on the backend outside of he and Luke Hughes, Hamilton has to provide more.

Luke Hughes: Take the PP1 role