NHL’s free agency period begins on July 1 at 12:00 pm ET. Of those unrestricted free agents who are set to hit the market 10 of them are slated to be from the New Jersey Devils’ organization.
Luckily for the Devils, none of those 10 are likely vital to the team’s 2026-27 plans. There are three NHL level free agents and seven more from the AHL level. The most notable player on the list is actually one who spent a majority of the season in the AHL. In all, the group below combined to only play 90 games at the NHL level in 2025-26. Given that, it would not be a bit surprising to see only one or two of the below 10 see their services retained.
As a reminder, an unrestricted free agent (UFA) is a player whose team no longer owns their rights, gets no compensation when that player signs elsewhere, and does not have the ability to match any contract that individual chooses to sign. Instead, that player is free to sign with any organization come July 1. Specifically, a player becomes an UFA when they are 27 years old (as of June 30) or if they have completed at least seven accrued NHL seasons.
Albeit rare, but there is also a Group 6 UFA. Those are players who typically would be a restricted free agent but meet three conditions resulting in them becoming an UFA. Those conditions are being at least 25 years or older, playing in less than 80 career NHL games played (for goalies this is 28 games with more than 30 minutes of ice time), and playing at least three professional seasons.
For a more in-depth analysis of what a Group 6 UFA is, click here.
Note, the projected contracts provided below are courtesy of AFP Analytics. If there is not a projected contract listed, that is because the player is projected to make the league minimum.
NHL
Evgenii Dadonov
The idea of bringing in Evgenii Dadonov to play within the team’s middle-six made a lot of sense, especially since he was only being paid $1 million. It was a very low risk move given the Russian was coming off a 20-goal season in Dallas while playing a majority of the year in their top-six.
Unfortunately, the move did not work out, as Dadonov battled injury and found himself as a healthy scratch most nights. He posted only one point across 24 games while playing on 10:39 a night. Given that, it is safe to say he will not be back in 2026-27.
The Devils, though, will be charged a very slight bonus carryover overage in 2025-26 due to Dadonov hitting a games-played threshold.
Projected Contract: One year, $1,004,342.87
Zack MacEwen
Former general manager Tom Fitzgerald was able to ship off tough-guy Kurtis MacDermid for a player who played a similar role in Zack MacEwen. MacEwen, whose play was night-and-day compared to the extremely poor MacDermid, played surprisingly strong with the Devils.
Unfortunately, the sample size was very small as MacEwen suffered two injuries which limited him to only three games. To put context to how strong he was in that small sample, across 18:48 of ice time at five-on-five the Devils dominated with him on the ice (75.00 Corsi-for percentage, 86.39 expected goals-for percentage).
If new general manager Sunny Mehta wanted to retain some sandpaper, MacEwen showed to be an effective version of that. However, given the major injury and his role being extremely replaceable, it would not be surprising to see him elsewhere next season.
Dennis Cholowski
The Devils acquired defenseman Dennis Cholowski from the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Adam Beckman on March 7, 2025. The Devils then re-signed Cholowski to be a depth defenseman prior to the 2025-26 season.
Through a year-plus with the organization, Cholowski played 23 games for the Devils at the NHL level and 13 with Utica of the AHL. When he did play, the impacts were poor (44.09 Corsi-for percentage, 43.28 expected goals-for percentage).
It is highly unlikely Cholowski returns next year. His role as a fringe NHL defenseman/seventh defenseman is easily replaceable and his play with the organization when he did get a chance was not good.
AHL
Brian Halonen
The most notable AHL free agent the organization has is forward Brian Halonen. Halonen has developed into a potent AHL goal scorer but has not quite gotten it done during his 19-game sample at the NHL level.
Halonen, now 27 years old, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech during the 2021-22 season. Since then, he has scored 86 goals over 217 AHL games. He has scored at least 20 goals for Utica in each of the last three seasons. Over that time he has scored at a 32-goal pace over a typical 72-game AHL regular season.
Halonen is a very good AHL player and would provide about boost to Utica if new Comets’ general manager Braden Birch chooses to bring him back. Unfortunately, his ceiling appears to be just that has he has been unable to fully make his mark at the NHL level.
Colton White
The Devils drafted the now 29-year-old Colton White in the fourth-round of the NHL Entry Draft back in 2015. He left the organization following the 2021-22 season, spending two years with the Anaheim Ducks organization before rejoining the Devils and Utica at the AHL level in 2024-25.
He skated in 23 NHL games with the Devils this season playing decently well. He owned the lowest expected goals against per 60 minutes at five-on-five on the team (among 30 Devils to play at least four games). He was a strong defensive presence.
In all, he has played in 345 AHL games and 107 NHL games. He had his best offensive season back in 2018-19 when the organization’s AHL affiliate was in Binghamton, posting 30 points across 71 games. He would be a nice veteran presence on the blue line for Utica if the team chooses to bring him back in 2026-27.
Ryan Schmelzer
Ryan Schmelzer has served as the Devils’ AHL affiliate’s captain since the 2021-22 season. Schmelzer was signed as an undrafted free agent by the organization out of Canisius College following the 2017-18 season where he also served as team captain.
The now 32-year-old posted the worst AHL season of his career, as far as point output, as his 27 points across 66 games was the fewest since the 2020-21 AHL season. This coming after he had career years in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Schmelzer is now a veteran of 475 career AHL games (245 points).
If Schmelzer is brought back for the 2026-27 season, it would likely be his sixth-straight season serving as team captain for the Devils’ AHL club.
Jonathan Gruden
Jonathan Gruden was acquired from Pittsburgh in the Cody Glass trade back on March 7, 2025. Gruden, 26 years old, was a fourth-round pick in 2018. He played in a bottom-six, penalty-killing role for the Comets this past season.
In doing so, he had the second-best year of his AHL career, scoring 26 points in 67 games. This was his best scoring output in the AHL since the 2022-23 season when he had 31 points in 54 games. He has skated in 335 career AHL games (140 points) and has played in 16 NHL games.
Note, Gruden is a Group of 6 UFA.
Nathan Légaré
The organization acquired the six-foot power forward Nathan Légaré back in 2024 from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Arnaud Durandeau. Since, Légaré has carved out a really nice AHL role for himself. After a career-year in 2024-25 where he scored 17 goals in 69 games, Légaré scored 13 in 2025-26. His 20 points this past season was the second-highest of his career, trailing only that breakout 2024-25 season.
The former third-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019 has largely played in the bottom-six and had led the Comets in penalty minutes since joining the organization. The 25-year-old has also skated in four NHL games for the Devils over the last two seasons.
Note, Légaré is a Group of 6 UFA.
Mike Hardman
The 27-year-old AHL veteran, Mike Hardman, had one of the worst season of his AHL career from a scoring standpoint in 2025-26. His 21 points across 58 games was the lowest since the 2022-23 AHL season.
Hardman was signed by the Chicago Blackhawks organization following his 2020-21 season with Boston College. He has played in 279 career AHL games, specifically 115 spanning two seasons with Utica and the Devils’ organization, and 39 NHL games.
Marc McLaughlin
The Devils’ organization acquired forward Marc McLaughlin in exchange for defenseman Daniel Misyul from Boston on March 7, 2025. The 26-year-old missed a majority of the season due to a preseason injury but came back red hot, ending with 14 points across 23 AHL games for Utica. He had five points through his first three games of the season and nine through his first eight following his return from injury.
McLaughlin, a former captain of Boston College, was signed by the Bruins following the 2021-22 collegiate season. He has played in 208 AHL games, scoring 78 points. His best scoring season at the AHL level was 30 points across 66 games during the 2022-23 season. McLaughlin also has played in 35 games at the NHL level.
Note, McLaughlin is a Group of 6 UFA.