The Latest Jersey Devils made a trade on Tuesday that ended a rough run for Ondrej Palat. The 2-time Stanley Cup Champion is now on the Latest York Islanders, and Tom Fitzgerald gave up some draft picks to dump his contract. However the Devils got Maxim Tsyplakov back within the trade and are already slotting him in the highest six.
Based on rushes this morning Tsyplakov is getting 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
In line with team reporter Amanda Stein, Tsyplakov was on the correct 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’s on the Devils, head coach Sheldon Keefe is giving him a likelihood in the highest six.
The Devils have handled an incredible amount of injuries this season, including to each Jack and Luke Hughes. Now, with Palat out the door, Tsyplakov goes to get a likelihood to prove himself on the NHL level. It has been a rollercoaster profession for the 27-year-old Russian, who has just two points in 27 games this yr. But in 77 games as a rookie, he had 35 points.
Who else will Devils unload this season?
The Devils enter Thursday’s matchup with the Nashville Predators seven points out of the playoffs. It could take a miracle for them to sneak into the playoffs, and so they are expected to unload more pieces before the NHL trade deadline in March. Despite some household names on the roster, Fitzgerald must make moves to establish the 2026-27 team.
Trading Dougie Hamilton gave the impression of a foregone conclusion when he was scratched earlier in January. But he has 10 points in eight games since, with no less than one assist in each game. With two years after this one left on his contract, it might be a tricky market with few teams holding that much cap space.
Tsyplakov is under contract for 2026-27 at $2.25 million. His production will not be price that price tag, but they needed to maneuver on from Palat simply to open up some space. If he starts to interrupt through offensively, the Devils could trade him to recoup some assets and acquire much more cap space.
Despite the dearth of wins from the Devils this season, there may be reason for optimism next season. All of that might go away if Fitzgerald doesn’t open up cap space and get assets on the trade deadline.