New Jersey Devils
Devils Free Agency Live Blog: Depth Scorers Acquired; Bargain Deals; Rival Moves
As the 2025 Free Agent Frenzy unfolds, keep it here at New Jersey Hockey Now for all your Devils news.
Heading into Tuesday afternoon, mum’s the word on what the New Jersey Devils’ plans were for free agency. Perhaps, that had plenty to do with the memo the NHL sent out to the league, twice, about tampering. Lots of teams, in fact, haven’t had much, if any, rumors flying about. A few big ones trickled through, but ultimately came to fruition. So, we’ll see how things shake out as the day unfolds. Welcome to the 2025 NHL Free Agency Live Blog.
The Devils’ needs are clear. They’re set up for a while on the blueline. Their goaltending is the strongest it’s ever been. However, general manager Tom Fitzgerald was clear at his year-end presser that the scoring was not up to par.
On Monday, New Jersey extended qualifying offers to Luke Hughes and Cody Glass. Expect a new contract for Hughes. It’s a toss up for Glass, but he’s, at the very least, returning next season (barring an unforeseen trade).
Nolan Foote and Isaac Poulter are walking to free agency as restricted, turned unrestricted free agents. Other Devils UFAs at noon are Curtis Lazar, Nathan Bastian, Justin Dowling, Daniel Sprong, Dennis Cholowski, Brian Dumoulin, Tory Dello, Samuel Laberge, and Max Willman.
Santeri Hatakka and Tomas Tatar have departed North America with new deals overseas.
So, what’s ahead amid the free agent frenzy?
Devils Live Blog
Jake Allen is Staying in New Jersey
It went down to the 11th hour, but the Devils inked Jake Allen to a long-term deal, keeping the veteran goaltender on a 35+ contract.
Welcome to Newark, Connor Brown
The Devils are finalizing a deal with forward Connor Brown. Brown is going into his age-32 season, and scored 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 82 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season.
Mother Russia!
The Devils made another big depth splash when they reeled in Evgenii Dadonov for one-year, at a $1 million cap hit plus incentives.
Devils Depth Signings
The Devils are bringing in two 25-year-olds, winger Angus Crookshank and defenseman Calen Addison. They also resigned defenseman, Dennis Cholowski.
Metro News
Before free agency kicked off, the Carolina Hurricanes inked a long-term extension with forward Logan Stankoven. After they acquired him in the Mikko Rantanen deal, Stankoven is sticking in Carolina, signing an eight-year, $48M ($6M AAV) contract extension.
The New York Islanders also got busy, bringing back Tony DeAngelo on a one-year contract. They later inked goaltender David Rittich, which makes you wonder about Semyon Varlamov’s outlook. The Isles then kept adding to their blueline, inking defenseman Ethan Bear to a one-year, two-way contract. At forward, the Islanders are taking a chance on Jonathan Drouin, who is undoubtedly a skilled forward. It’s the injury history that makes the two-year contract risky.
The Philadelphia Flyers were the first Metro team in the free agent market to make somewhat of a splash. They inked Christian Dvorak to a one-year, $5.4 million deal on Tuesday. They later inked goaltender Dan Vladar to a two-year contract with a $3.35 million AAV. New head coach, Rick Tocchet, may have had a hand in this one. The Flyers also agreed to a one-year, $900,000 deal with 28-year-old right-shot defenseman Noah Juulsen. At forward, the Flyers inked Lane Pederson on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775k.
The Devils’ No.1 rival got a bit tougher on the blueline. The New York Rangers inked defenseman Vladislov Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million deal. They also extended RFA Will Cuyelle to a two-year contract that carries a $3.9 million AAV.
The Rangers and Hurricanes connected on a sign-and-trade that sent K’Andre Miller to Carolina with an eight-year extension, in exchange for 22-year-old defenseman, Scott Morrow, a 2026 first and second-round pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forwards Philip Tomasino for one year, $1.75 million, and Connor Dewar for one year, $1.1 million.
The Columbus Blue Jackets made Ivan Provorov’s seven-year extension official.
The Rest of the NHL Free Agency
The Mitch Marner trade to the Vegas Golden Knights became official on Tuesday. His tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs is over, and Nicolas Roy’s has just begun. The trade is one-for-one.
Mikhail Granlund, a target I thought the Devils might have at least inquired on, inked a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks.
Oh and Brock Boeser? Yeah, he’s staying put, signing for 7x$7.25 million in Vancouver.
The Vancouver Canucks also kept Connor Garland, signing him to a six-year contract, and Thatcher Demko, to a three-year contract.
Andrew Mangiapane is the latest scorer the Oilers are hoping can compliment their stars. He inks a two-year deal in Edmonton.
Nico Sturm signed a two-year, $4 million contract ($2 million AAV) with the Minnesota Wild.
Lars Eller signed a one-year contract with the Ottawa Senators.
Alex Lyon is joining the Buffalo Sabres on a two-year contract.
Radek Faksa returns to the Dallas Stars on a three-year deal.
The Los Angeles Kings netted former Devils defenseman, Brian Dumoulin, on a three-year contract. They also reeled in Cody Ceci to a four-year deal, and Anton Forsberg to a two-year contract.
James van Riemsdyk made his way to Motor City, inking a deal with the Detroit Red Wings on a one-year contract.
Somehow, the Florida Panthers added more, bringing in Jeff Petry on a league minimum deal. They also re-signed ex-Devils forward, Tomas Nosek.
Vitek Vanecek is moving from the heat to the frost, inking a deal with the Utah Mammoth. Panthers teammate Former Nate Schmidt is joining Vanecek there as well.
Brandon Tanev will also be Tusks Up next season, starting a new endeavor in Utah.
Nick Perbix is going to the Nashville Predators on a two-year contract.
Nick Bjustad and the St. Louis Blues agreed to a two-year contract.
Ryan Lindgren cashed in with the Seattle Kraken, inking a four-year contract.
Tanner Jeannot continues to find new ways to get paid in the NHL, inking a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins. The Bruins also acquired Viktor Avidsson from the Oilers in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
The San Jose Sharks extended William Eklund on a three-year contract.
Talk about a one-for-one trade. The Blues sent forward Zachery Bolduc to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman, Logan Mailloux. Both have bright futures in the NHL.
THIS IS A LIVE BLOG, STAY WITH US AT NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW FOR ALL YOUR DEVILS FREE AGENCY NEWS
For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.
Follow us on 𝕏:
@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL
And on Threads:
