Devils’ Aggressive Cap Space Strategy for 2025 Offer Sheets

There’s been a lot of chatter about offer sheets ever since the New Jersey Devils held their final media availability. That’s because general manager Tom Fitzgerald ended the presser with a bang, revealing he feels offer sheets will be a tool to utilize in the future. Although the cap is rising, there’s only so much cap space for the Devils to use this summer. Therefore, if they’re going to be aggressive and utilize the bold tool to reel in a restricted free agent, how can they create more cap space?

READ MORE: 3 Bold Offer Sheet Targets for Aggressive Devils in 2025

The Devils will have $12,044,167 in cap space as of July 1st with 11 players’ contracts set to expire.

It’s fair to speculate most, if not all the unrestricted free agents will walk into free agency.

Fitzgerald’s most important box to check this summer is Luke Hughes‘ next contract. With the way some rising stars are being compensated on their second contracts these days, Hughes could receive a long-term pay day.

On a long-term contract, AFP Analytics projects Hughes to earn about $8.4 million per year on a six-year contract.

Whether he earns more or less in money and term remains to be determined, but it’s not unrealistic, and actually quite probable, that Hughes will occupy a hefty portion of the $12+ million the Devils have to work with in the offseason.

There’s also Cody Glass, who the Devils would like to retain in a depth role, and the backup goaltending situation to figure out.

Will Jake Allen return, or will the Devils hand the reins to Nico Daws who will see his contract transfer from a two-way to a one-way deal on July 1st?

The fact of the matter is, the Devils will need to create some cap space. The question is, how?

NHL Trade Market

There’s good news and there’s bad news regarding the NHL trade market and how the Devils can utilize it.

The bad news is that the players who are weighing down the cap most have trade protection. The good news is that trade protection is downgrading at the start of the new fiscal year.

Ondrej Palat is entering the fourth year of a five-year contract. His full no-trade protection is about to downgrade to a 10-team trade list. Therefore, he’ll submit his list of teams, and that will exclude 22 potential trade partners to work with.

So, Fitzgerald will be restricted, but less so than before.

Although Palat’s cap hit is $6 million, he’s only owed $4.95 million in real cash. That could appeal to some GMs around the league, especially if they’re going to be sold on “playoff pedigree” and “veteran leadership.”

The Devils’ option to move Palat is feasible now more than ever.

Palat isn’t the only player in this situation. Erik Haula is entering the final year of his contract. He, too, owned full no-trade protection. However, on July 1st, that changes.

Haula’s trade protection this summer downgrades to a six-team no-trade list, giving the Devils 26 options to move the 34-year-old forward.

He’s on the books for $3.15 million, but is only owed $2.4 million in real dollars.

That, again, may appeal to potential buyers.

Will there be buyers? That’s the question. Having to attach any sort of draft compensation to the aforementioned players negates the purpose of clearing cap space for offer sheets. Still, it’s not like Palat and Haula are completely unserviceable. They’re simply replacement level players in the Devils’ trajectory.

But, that doesn’t mean they would be in a different organization.

Clearing one or both of the cap hits of Palat and Haula would certainly help Fitzgerald’s ability to hand out an aggressive offer sheet.

And for god’s sake, is anyone willing to take on Kurtis MacDermid’s $1.15 million cap hit for the next two seasons?

Bold Move

This is a bold move, but Dougie Hamilton’s trade protection downgrades this summer as well. The 31-year-old defenseman will see his full no-move clause downgrade to a 10-team no-trade list for the last three seasons of his contract in New Jersey.

Moving Hamilton outright would clear $9 million in cap space, and there’s no doubt that buyers would line up for a top power play QB and offensive specialist from the blueline, especially with a rising cap.

However, it’s a calculated risk.

The Devils could always keep Brian Dumoulin around as a reliable veteran. However, New Jersey would certainly be losing a touch of offense, and it’s not exactly a one-for-one replacement with Dumoulin being left-handed.

The real bet would be on Simon Nemec. He showed that confidence we saw in his rookie season again in the 2025 playoffs.

Can the Devils afford to bet on Nemec at his low cap hit to take on a much bigger role in 2025-26. The overall sample says that Nemec is still a work in progress. However, his reliability in the biggest portion of the season gives a glimmer of hope that Nemec’s development is headed in the right direction.

It’s a risk, but perhaps Nemec and an evolving Hughes on the blueline could be enough to compensate for the loss of Hamilton.

Regardless, that’s not a decision Fitzgerald would make lightly, and it is, perhaps, the least likely option.

Buyouts

Is a buyout likely for anyone on the Devils’ roster? That’s only for Fitzgerald to decide.

The only real candidates for a buyout anyway are the ones who were mentioned previously as trade chips, sans Hamilton. The Devils defenseman is just too valuable, and they’d rather keep him and utilize him, than pay him longer than his stay in New Jersey.

However, the buyouts for Palat and Haula are easier to digest.

If the Devils were to buyout Palat, they would save $2,466,667 per year over the next two seasons. They’d then have to pay Palat to not play for them in 2027-28 & 2028-29, costing them $1,483,333 each year against the cap.

With one year left, Haula’s is even easier, saving the Devils $1.6 million this year, and counting $800K against the cap next season when he’s likely wearing a different sweater.

Is a near $2.5 million saved on Palat and $1.6 million on Haula enough to net the Devils a restricted free agent they covet via an offer sheet?

Depends on the player.

However, if the Devils want to progress, they need to be proactive.

Think the Vegas Golden Knights or the Tampa Bay Lightning. You might not agree with some of their fiercely ambitious tactics, but there’s no arguing with their three Stanley Cups combined in recent years.

The Devils need to be aggressive this offseason, and there are options.

It’s time to push feelings aside and build for a championship run.

*Contract details via PuckPedia.

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