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The New Jersey Devils made the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, but were eliminated in the first round by the Carolina Hurricanes. It was injuries that doomed the end of the Devils' season. With that, it was not expected that general manager Tom Fitzgerald would make major moves. They still have a strong core of a roster, built primarily through the draft. Regardless, the team did make some small but solid moves in this 2025 NHL free agency period.
New Jersey has not made a ton of moves this offseason. They acquired a defensive prospect and draft pick in exchange for Erik Haula. They also brought in another prospect from the Sharks in Thomas Bordeleau. The team did lose a few players as well. Nolan Foote signed with the Florida Panthers, but he played just seven games last year. They also lost Brian Dumoulin, Samuel Laberge, and Curtis Lazar. Those were also minor losses to the roster. The biggest loss may have been that of Tomas Tatar, who moved to EV Zug of Switzerland. He played in 74 games last year, but underperformed, and it was expected that the Devils would be moving on from him.
Still, the Devils currently have just $6.2 million in cap space. They also need to re-sign restricted free agent Luke Hughes. This has led to speculation that Dougie Hamilton may be traded. The Devils did make six signings this summer in free agency, and this is how they grade out.
The Devils bring back Jake Allen on a 5-year contract
One of the bigger moves of the offseason for New Jersey was re-signing Jake Allen to a five-year $9 million deal. Allen was the 34th overall selection by the St. Louis Blues in 2008. He would break into the NHL in the 2012 postseason with the Blues and become their starting netminder during the 2016-17 campaign. He would lose his job to Jordan Binnington in St. Louis, becoming the backup before being sent to the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadian netminder would later be traded to the Devils, and provided New Jersey with security in the goal.
Last season, he was great. Allen played in 31 games, making 29 starts. He would have a 2.66 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. The former second-round pick was seen as a starting goaltender option for some teams, but he decided to return to the Devils. He may have gotten more money somewhere else, but the Devils got massive value in this deal.
Jake Allen contract grade: A
Connor Brown joins New Jersey on a 4-year deal
The Devils also added forward depth by bringing in Brown from the Edmonton Oilers. He got a four-year deal from the team worth $12 million. Brown broke into the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015-16 season, playing in seven games. Still, he would become a solid NHL forward. In his three full seasons with the Leafs, he scored 28 or more points in each of them, while also adding points in the playoffs. The Canadian winger would then move to Ottawa, where he had his three best seasons of his career, scoring 117 points over 191 games with the franchise. He would then move to the Washington Capitals, but tear his ACL just four games into the year.
After struggling with the Oilers in 2023-24 while recovering from injury, he rebounded to score 30 points in 82 games last year. He brings plenty of playoff experience to the Devils, which is a major bonus for the team. Also, he regularly scored 30 points per season, making his $3 million AAV efficiently spent. He is turning 32 this year, will most likely be a third or fourth-line player, and the Devils had to include a no-trade clause to sign him. Overall, Brown will be a solid depth piece, but it came at a slight price.
Connor Brown contract grade: B-
Evgenii Dadonov gets a $1 million deal
The Devils also got a great contract for veteran depth with the signing of Dadonov. He was the 71st overall pick of the Florida Panthers in 2007. He would break into the NHL for the first time in the 2009-10 season, but return to the KHL during the lockout until the 2017-18 campaign. The time in the KHL was solid for him. When the Russian forward returned, he began regularly putting up 25 goals per year with over 50 points. After stops with the Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Canadiens, he would join the Dallas Stars as part of a trade mid-season.
Dadonov was solid last year, scoring 20 goals and adding 20 assists. He has had over 20 points per season every year since coming back to the NHL, while scoring over ten goals in all but one season. Using a baseline rule of $100,000 per point of production being an efficient contract, the Stars got a steal with this deal, as long as Dadonov continues to produce.
New Jersey re-signs Dennis Cholowski
The Devils re-signed Dennis Cholowski to a one-year contract worth $775,000. The defender was the 20th overall pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2016 NHL Draft. He would break into the NHL, playing 52 games for the Wings in the 2018-19 season. He would bounce back and forth between the NHL and AHL over the next few years before being claimed off waivers by the Washington Capitals. Cholowski spent time with the Seattle Kraken and New York Islanders before landing with the Devils at the trade deadline this past season.
Cholowski has played 156 games in the NHL in the regular season and played six games with the Devils, plus two in the playoffs. He has shown to be a solid option as a call-up in a bind for a team. While Cholowski is not a regular bottom rotation defender in the NHL, he will add value to the club when they need an injury replacement.
Dennis Cholowski contract grade: B
The Devils add blue liner Calen Addison
Calen Addison is another solid defensive depth piece for the AHL, while also being younger. He signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Devils that pays him $775,000 at the NHL level. With this being a short-term deal for very low money, there is next to no risk with this contract. Still, there could be a solid return for the Canadian-born blue liner. He was the 53rd overall pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018. He would be traded to the Minnesota Wild before making it to the NHL. With the Wild, he would see a season of solid NHL time, playing in 62 games for the club in the 2022-23 season. There, he showed he was a two-way defender, putting up 29 points with the club.
He would be traded to the San Jose Sharks in November of 2023, playing 60 games for them, and having 17 points between the two clubs that year. Still, Addison spent last season in the AHL, playing in both the Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues organizations. He has proven he is capable of being a bottom rotation defender in the NHL. Addison also adds some benefit on offense and the power play. He will most likely be the seventh defender on the roster if Hamilton is traded, and at such a low cost, he is a great bargain.
Calen Addison contract grade: A-
New Jersey re-signs Cody Glass
Glass joined the Devils as part of a trade with the Penguins at the trade deadline this past year. The center would go on to play 14 games, scoring seven points. Still, he struggled in the playoffs, going without a point. He was the sixth overall pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017. This made him the first-ever draft pick of the franchise. He would join the NHL squad in the 2019-20 season, but be traded to the Nashville Predators in the summer of 2021. The Canadian-born center would once again be traded in the summer of 2024, this time to the Penguins, but he would play just 51 games there before moving to Jersey.
Glass was solid with the Devils and has been a half-point-per-game player for most of his NHL career. With a two-year deal worth only $2.5 million, if he can put up 25 points, which is something he would average in his career over 82 games, the Devils got a solid deal.
Gody Glass contract grade: A-
Final grade on the New Jersey Devils' 2025 signings
The Devils did not make a ton of moves, but they made solid ones. Bringing back Allen was huge. If they did not see Nico Daws as ready for the NHL, this gives them time. Further, Jacob Markstrom is a free agent next year. The Devils could move to Allen and Daws as the goaltending combination next season. Brown and Dadonov both bring a solid veteran presence and could be paired with Arseny Gritsyuk as he moves over from the KHL. Further, they got a solid deal in the re-signing of Cody Glass. While the Devils did not make a lot of moves, they were good ones overall.
Overall grade for the Devils' 2025 Free Agency Class: B+
