Devils Ondrej Palat Knows He Needs to be Better to Justify Contract, ‘Not a Great Year’

To state the obvious, the core of the New Jersey Devils needs to be better next season.

Perhaps, everyone but Jesper Bratt — who recorded a new career high of 83 points — that is.

It’s not just about the points, however. The team needs to play far better than they did as a whole. We compare last season’s team to the one in 2022-23 a lot, and that’s because the team two seasons ago was quite dominant in all three zones.

Sure, it’s also true that players such as Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton soared to new career highs. However, that’s because the Devils were a better-structured team.

Devils veteran forward Ondrej Palat believes, much like he did with the Tampa Bay Lightning, that you need to fall in order to rise.

“Sometimes you need to lose to learn and be better. That’s exactly what we did in Tampa,” Palat explained. “We had a terrible playoff, we got swept. We looked at ourselves in the mirror and we made some changes. The coaches made some changes in the infrastructure. And we took the defensive part of the game as a number one [priority] to help us to have success in this league. So that’s what happened [in Tampa] for the next couple of years.”

Palat’s been there and done that with the Lightning who are back in the playoffs for a seventh straight season and made it in 10 of their last 11. The 33-year-old forward was a crucial factor in eight of Tampa’s playoff runs between 2014 and 2022, collecting two Stanley Cups in the process.

In fact, his veteran presence and playoff pedigree are what netted the Czechoslovakian forward a five-year, $30 million contract via free agency with New Jersey.

Although he was never much of a regular season point collector before with a career-high of 63 points in 2014-15, the expectations for Palat were raised once he secured a larger contract to help navigate New Jersey in a similar direction he did with Tampa.

Despite the Devils’ success in 2022-23, it was just an OK season for Palat who collected eight goals and 23 points in 49 games in the regular season. However, Palat’s season was chalked up to injury, after he suffered a lower-body injury that held him out for 10 weeks.

Things were looking up for the veteran forward in the postseason when Palat tallied two goals and seven points in 12 games, playing a significant role in the Devils’ first-round victory over the New York Rangers.

The expectation in 2023-24 was for Palat to carry that momentum into this season, much like the rest of New Jersey.

Yet, 71 games later, Palat netted just 11 goals and 31 points. Those are certainly disappointing numbers for a $6 million forward who was brought in to give the Devils a boost.

Palat knows he needs to be better.

“I thought obviously, not a great year, not a lot of points. But like I said, I’m not judging my season on the points,” the veteran forward explained. “I’m judging it on if I’m working hard enough, if I’m winning battles, if I’m setting an example for the group. I thought I did okay, not great, obviously. So, there’s room for improvement, and hopefully, I’ll be better next year.

Offseason training started for Palat right away.

Despite the media filling the locker room on the clean-out day last week, Palat was sitting in his stall and prepping his gear to get on the ice to get in some work. While speaking with his teammates throughout the day, Palat hit the ice with Simon Nemec and Tomas Nosek.

When the veteran forward returned to the locker room, he was asked what he needed to do next season to not only be better but also to justify his contract.

“Offensively, I would love to score more goals,” Palat answered to New Jersey Hockey Now. “I’m doing anything I can, but sometimes it’s just not gonna happen. So you know, offensively, I would like to improve my game but like I said I just want to be better.”

According to Evolving Hockey‘s model, Palat’s advanced analytics at 5-on-5 look quite good. In fact, they suggest he should be scoring more than he is.

However, it’s not translating to as many goals as it should be. As Palat stated, it’ll be an area of focus for him in the offseason.

Palat divulged his plans for the offseason, to play in some more meaningful games, take a brief period of rest, and then get back to work.

“I’ll go to Worlds if I make the Czech team,” Palat said. “I will meet them at the end of the end of the month. Then I’ll take a couple of weeks off and get back to training.”

There’s little doubt that Palat’s Devils tenure has been offensively disappointing. He’ll find his way on the scoresheet only to go missing for games on end.

He knows it’s not good enough, and has already started his offseason training with the goal that he’ll be an improved player next season.

The mentality in New Jersey is that the 2023-24 season was the exception as opposed to 2022-23 when they collected 112 points. Palat has been through a minor setback to make a major comeback before with the Bolts. He sees the same bones in New Jersey’s locker room as he did in Tampa Bay’s.

“I think so,” Palat said in response to whether the Devils can walk in the Lightning’s footsteps. “But we have to take the next step. We did it in Tampa, and I don’t always want to talk about Tampa because I’m here now. But yeah, I see a team here that should make the playoffs, at least, and can win.”

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