Devils scratch Ondrej Palat against Jets for ‘roster-related reasons’
The New Jersey Devils have opted to make forward Ondrej Palat a healthy scratch for their game against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night for ‘roster-related reasons,’ according to Devils team reporter Amanda Stein.
Palat, 34, has just four goals and 10 points in 51 games with the Devils this season. The Czech winger serves as an alternate captain with the team and is under contract through the 2026-27 season at a $6 million annual cap hit.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Palat left the Prudential Center shortly before the start of Tuesday’s game. He did not take part in warm-ups with the Devils.
Ondrej Palat is being held out tonight for roster related reasons.
He is not on the ice for #NJDevils warmups.
The Devils originally signed Palat to a five-year contract as an unrestricted free agent in 2022, shortly after he helped his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, reach the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive season.
Palat appeared in just 49 games in his first season in New Jersey and has not lived up to expectations with the Devils, topping out at just 31 points in 71 games during his second year with the club. If the Devils do ultimately trade Palat, it will almost certainly be as a salary cap dump.
To complicate matters, Palat’s current contract includes a modified no-trade clause, by which the 6′ left wing is entitled to provide the Devils to a list of only 10 teams to which he would accept a trade. Palat is widely considered to be significantly overpaid and would likely need to be traded alongside a sweetener to get another team to take on his contract.
The Lightning originally selected Palat in the seventh round (No. 208 overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. The former Drummondville Voltigeurs forward won the Calder Cup with the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals in 2012 and established himself as an NHL regular with the Lightning soon after, finishing second to Nathan MacKinnon in Calder Trophy voting in 2014.
Palat played a crucial role in the Lightning reaching the Stanley Cup Final four times during his tenure (2015, 2020, 2021, and 2022). He led the league in playoff power-play goals in 2015 and playoff even-strength goals in 2022; the other two years, the Bolts won the Stanley Cup.
In 876 career games over parts of 14 NHL seasons with the Lightning and Devils, Palat has collected 181 goals and 515 points. He’s added 51 goals and 103 points in 155 playoff contests.