New Jersey Devils winger Ondrej Palat hurriedly walked towards the exit of Prudential Center in the clothes that he had worn into the arena mere hours ago, only minutes before his teammates would take the ice for their pregame warmups.

The organization soon announced that Palat would be held out tonight for roster-related reasons.

In the first period of the Devils game against the Winnipeg Jets, the two-time Stanley Cup champion was traded to the New York Islanders along with a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and the club’s sixth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft in exchange for 27-year-old forward Maxim Tsyplakov. He has a $2,250,000 cap hit and is in the first year of a two-year contract.

The 6′3″, 203 lb winger has two points (one goal, one assist) in 27 games. Per the press release, Tsyplakov has recorded 37 career points (11 goals, 26 assists) and 45 penalty minutes in 104 career regular-season games. He made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 10, 2024, against the Utah Mammoth.

Palat signed a five-year contract with the Devils worth $30,000,000 with an annual average value of $6,000,000 on July 14, 2022.

The veteran played 248 games as a member of the Devils, finishing his tenure with 38 goals and 92 points.

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