NEWARK, NJ — It’s official, the New Jersey Devils’ 2025-2026 season is over.
The Devils started the season off at 8-1 across their first nine games, but went through a 34-36-2 stretch to follow in their next 73 games—closing out the year at 42-37-3 (87 points), which ultimately was not enough to secure a playoff spot. With that, towards the end of the season, the Devils fired the organization’s general manager, Tom Fitzgerald. His tenure as their full-time GM included a record of 218-204-39.
“This is definitely not the expectation or the standard we want to set,” said Jack Hughes, sidelined by injuries for an extended period this season, during Devils’ clean-out day. “We need to raise the bar way higher and start to take strides as an organization. It starts with guys training in the summer and showing up to camp excited and ready to have a fun year.”
Hughes, 24, still managed to score 27 goals and fired in the winning goal for Team USA in the 2026 Winter Olympics for the gold medal.
Nico Hischier, the captain of the Devils, added his thoughts, stating “It’s not the year we hoped for, but unfortunately, right now, we have to work hard on ourselves and come back ready to have a great start.”
He later was asked about his future and replied: “I’m focusing on playing hockey here. I still have one more year. So I’m with the Devils right now and then we’ll see what happens.”
Nico Hischier, the captain of the Devils, is entering his final year on his contract with the Devils and is eligible to sign an extension with New Jersey this offseason – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
There were many more questions brought up during the Devils’ clean-out day such as was goaltender Jacob Markström overused? Is this team aging? Will a new general manager bring more changes, particularly to a defense that revealed many weaknesses for the Devils? Does the coach Sheldon Keefe remain or depart?
Several of those questions will have answers when the 2026-2027 NHL regular season opens up in late September. Others will be answered as the year rolls on.
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