Devils Are One Year Away From Buying Out Ondrej Palat

The New Jersey Devils are going to see some changes in the offseason as the GM has made clear. The depth scoring just didn't perform in the second half of the season when they were needed the most. There isn't a ton of room to maneuver this offseason, but that means there are going to be at least a player shipped out to free up space.

Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier are staples in the top-6, but supposed top-6 complementary players like Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, and Erik Haula did not have good seasons. Stefan Noesen stepped up, but also went quiet for a big chunk of the season as well. If that is the supporting cast with many of the bottom-6 players doing a lot less, the Devils are getting anywhere in the playoffs.

The one player I want to focus on here is Palat. He was overpaid when the Devils brought him in as a free agent and is really overpaid now. At $6 million AAV, the 34-year-old put up 15 goals and 28 points in 77 games. He averaged 13:45 of ice time per game, played on both special teams, didn't have a good +/- for being on a playoff team, and had one of the lowest expected goals for percentages on the team.

The problem with moving on from Palat this offseason is that he still has two years left at $6 million AAV. Unless he was a massive problem, it isn't worth buying out his contract just yet. He can still contribute from the bottom-6, but it makes no sense to move him up without multiple injuries. The veteran was once a great player to have for secondary scoring in the top-6, but those days are long past from when he was in Tampa Bay.

If the Devils wait until next offseason to buy the then 35-year-old Palat out of his final year, the cap hit would be $2 million for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 season, which is very manageable instead of having a $6 million cap hit for the 2026-27 season. Expect a lot of work to be done in New Jersey this summer. And I could even be wrong, with the moves expected to be made, Palat's contract could be dumped earlier than expected.