Potential milestones that the Devil is noticing in 2025-26 – Hockey Writer – New Jersey Devil
Part of the reason why watching sports is so good is the ability to watch the athletes’ careers over time. While the New Jersey Devils don’t have Alexander Ovechkin’s goal-style storyline in 2025-26, there’s something to watch out for.
Related: New Jersey Devils’ Top 10 Prospects for 2025-26
*They are ranked 1 to 10, with 1 of them the least likely to happen, while 10 are certain. This is assuming that the players are healthy throughout the season. Obviously, the damage may change the possibility.
Upcoming records/milestones
Dawson Mercer’s History of Chasing the Devil (10/10) – Again, since probability is the probability that is assumed to be healthy, Mercer’s 74th game of the season (402) will pass Travis Zajac (401), the most continuous game in the history of the Devil. Even more dramatic is that Mercer’s winning streak began with the 2021 NHL debut, so he hasn’t missed a game of his career. Talk about durability.
Nico Hischier improves franchise goals rankings (7.5/10) – Captain Devils needs 29 goals to reach 200. He has averaged 31 goals per goal over the past three seasons, which has put it in a strait. If healthy, his shots are good, but that’s not sure. Even if he didn’t reach the milestone, he would need 24 to jump Kirk Muller and Zach Parise to fifth place in the Devil’s goal-scoring. A goal-scoring season over 32 will take him to his third in history, through Travis Zajac and Bobby Holik.
Jack Hughes 400 Career Points (10/10) – Hughes only needs 49 points to reach 400 as he continues to establish himself as one of the better offensive players in the game. He scored 56 points in any demixed season, even injured.
Luke Hughes 100 Career Points (10/10) – The youngest Hughes brothers continue to establish themselves as the primary offensive defender, ending 22 points in 22 games in the 2024-25 season. He only needs 7 points to reach 100, and it’s no surprise if he fully bursts out and ends with over 150+ seasons and ends the season.
Jack Hughes’s single-season franchise points record (5.5/10) – As with every season, health is the biggest thing J. Hughes has in 2022-23 franchise record. Of course he has talent. By breaking it, he also became the first devil to reach a score in a season.
Jesper Bratt 300 Career Assistance (10/10) – Bratt makes himself a rich man who has the ability to spread the hockey. Considering he broke the single-season franchise record with 67 assists in 2024-25, this tells me that if healthy, he will be gaps*check notes*more than 300 assists this season. Maybe even on opening night.
Dawson Mercer 100 Career Targets/Assistance (6/10) – Although Mercer once met his expectations of him, he has always been a valuable member of the Devil, with an average of about 42 points per season, except that he is very durable and reliable in every respect. He needed 17 goals and 16 assists to reach 100 in each category.
Famous veteran The game has played milestones:
Brenden Dillon 1,000 Pro Games (26 required)
Dougie Hamilton 900 Pro Competition (65 required)
Ondrej Palat 900 Pro Competition (Requires 75)
Brett Pesce 700 Pro Competition (1 required)
Timo Meier 700 Professional Competition (Requires 79)
Jesper Bratt 600 Pro Competition (48 required)
Nico Hischier 600 Pro Competition (Requires 73)
Stefan Noesen 500 Pro Competition (56 required)
Young player name:
Simon Nemec 100 Pro Competition (13 required)
Arseni Gritsyuk’s first NHL game (requires 1)
Interesting tidbits
The Devils have not received a free throw in their home games since April 5, 2018, since Taylor Hall scored on New York Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist. They did get a game in the 2023 playoffs, and also against the Rangers, with J. Hughes scoring on Igor Shesterkin. But the playoffs are not a record.
Believe me. You can go back to this. More than seven years later, the 2025-26 season will be an inexplicable long-term victory, and the Devil will be fined again (Even multiple!) at home. But anyway, there will be a lot to watch in the 2025-26 season.
