The New Jersey Devils made a trade on Tuesday that ended a rough run for Ondrej Palat. The two-time Stanley Cup Champion is now on the New York Islanders, and Tom Fitzgerald gave up some draft picks to dump his contract. But the Devils got Maxim Tsyplakov back in the trade and are already slotting him in the top six.
Based on rushes this morning Tsyplakov is going in tonight for #NJDevils.
Changes up and down the lineup ahead of facing Nashville tonight: pic.twitter.com/qg9Wrnembc
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) January 29, 2026
According to team reporter Amanda Stein, Tsyplakov was on the right wing with Nico Hischier and Arseni Gritsyuk on the second line. While he was on the Islanders, Tsyplakov was a bottom-six player and was often scratched in favor of other bottom-line forwards. Now that he is on the Devils, head coach Sheldon Keefe is giving him a chance in the top six.
The Devils have dealt with an incredible amount of injuries this season, including to both Jack and Luke Hughes. Now, with Palat out the door, Tsyplakov is going to get a chance to prove himself at the NHL level. It has been a rollercoaster career for the 27-year-old Russian, who has just two points in 27 games this year. But in 77 games as a rookie, he had 35 points.
Who else will Devils sell off this season?
The Devils enter Thursday's matchup with the Nashville Predators seven points out of the playoffs. It would take a miracle for them to sneak into the playoffs, and they are expected to sell off more pieces before the NHL trade deadline in March. Despite some household names on the roster, Fitzgerald needs to make moves to set up the 2026-27 team.
Trading Dougie Hamilton seemed like a foregone conclusion when he was scratched earlier in January. But he has 10 points in eight games since, with at least one assist in each game. With two years after this one left on his contract, it could be a tough market with few teams holding that much cap space.
Tsyplakov is under contract for 2026-27 at $2.25 million. His production is not worth that price tag, but they needed to move on from Palat just to open up some space. If he starts to break through offensively, the Devils could trade him to recoup some assets and acquire even more cap space.
Despite the lack of wins from the Devils this season, there is reason for optimism next season. All of that could go away if Fitzgerald does not open up cap space and get assets at the trade deadline.
