Jessica Campbell joining the Devils' development staff is the kind of news that sends people to Google twice: once to read about the hire, and once to figure out how to actually watch this team. The first part is easy. The second part is where the NHL makes you work for it — because the Devils, like every team in the New York market, live behind a regional sports network that half the big streaming services don't carry.

I've been cord-cutting for about a decade and testing streaming apps for most of that time, and hockey is still the sport where people most often buy the wrong subscription. So before you hand anyone your credit card, run through this checklist. Then I'll walk through each item, because almost every one of them has a catch.

The before-you-subscribe checklist

  • Figure out whether you're in-market or out-of-market for the Devils
  • If you're in-market, confirm your service actually carries MSG Sportsnet (most don't)
  • If you're out-of-market, start with ESPN+ before anything pricier
  • Budget for national games — a chunk of the schedule skips MSG entirely
  • Own an antenna if you have a local ABC affiliate
  • Check the calendar — don't pay for hockey months that don't exist

Six items. Let's go through them.

1. In-market or out-of-market? Everything depends on this

The NHL still runs on regional blackout rules. If you live in the Devils' broadcast territory — New Jersey and the greater New York area, basically — their local games are exclusive to MSG Sportsnet, and out-of-market packages will black them out for you. If you live in, say, Denver or Tampa, the opposite is true: MSG is irrelevant to your life, and the out-of-market route is cheaper and simpler.

People skip this step constantly and end up paying for a package that blacks out the one team they wanted. Two minutes of checking your zip code against the league's blackout map (the NHL and ESPN both have lookup tools) saves you a season of frustration.

2. In-market: MSG Sportsnet is the whole ballgame

Most Devils games air on MSG Sportsnet, with some spillover to MSG's secondary channel when schedules collide with the Rangers or Islanders. Your realistic ways in:

The Gotham Sports app. This is the direct-to-consumer home for MSG's networks, and honestly, it's the cleanest answer for a lot of fans now. No cable login required — you subscribe, you watch. Early versions of MSG's streaming efforts were rough, but the Gotham app has matured into something I'd actually recommend. Monthly plans run in the $30–$42 range depending on whether you want just the MSG side or the full Gotham bundle, and there are annual and single-team options that work out cheaper per game. Pricing shifts around, so check the current numbers on Gotham's official site before you commit.

DirecTV Stream. Of the big live-TV streamers, this is the one that reliably carries MSG networks, though you need the Choice tier or above, which lands north of $100 a month. That's real money, but if your household also wants YES, news channels, and everything else, it's the closest thing to cable without the box.

Fubo. Fubo carries MSG networks in-market again after a stretch where it didn't, and its base plans start around $85 a month. It's sports-first by design and a decent fit if you also watch soccer or NFL. Confirm MSG shows up for your zip code during signup — Fubo shows you the channel lineup before you pay, which I appreciate.

The trap to avoid: YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV do not carry MSG networks. They're excellent services — I use YouTube TV myself for other things — but for local Devils games they are a $75-to-$85-a-month way to watch highlights on your phone. This is the single most common mistake I see New York–area hockey fans make.

3. Out-of-market: ESPN+ is the easy button

If you live outside the Devils' territory, breathe easy. ESPN+ includes the NHL's out-of-market package — over a thousand games a season — so nearly every Devils game that airs on MSG locally streams live for you on ESPN+ with no extra hockey add-on. At roughly $12 a month, it's one of the better deals in sports streaming, and it comes bundled in the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ combo if your household already pays for those anyway.

ESPN has also rolled out its bigger unlimited streaming tier at around $30 a month, which folds in the full ESPN channel feed. Worth it if you watch a lot of ESPN generally; overkill if you just want Devils games.

The app itself is fine. Search is clunkier than it should be — I usually get to games through the NHL hub page rather than the search bar — but streams are stable and the multi-game flexibility on busy nights is genuinely great.

4. National games skip MSG entirely

Every season, a slice of Devils games gets picked up by the national rights holders, and those nights your regional setup doesn't help:

  • ESPN / ABC / ESPN+: ESPN-produced games stream on ESPN+, and ABC games are broadcast TV (more on that below).
  • TNT and truTV: these games also stream live on HBO Max (about $10–$17 a month depending on tier), or come included with live-TV services that carry Turner channels.

If you're the type who only watches a dozen games a season, you can almost build a budget plan out of national windows alone: ESPN+ plus an antenna covers a surprising amount of marquee hockey for under $15 a month.

5. The antenna, as always, earns its keep

A handful of national games land on ABC each season, including some of the best matchups and playoff windows. A $25–$40 flat antenna picks up your local ABC affiliate free, forever, in better quality than most streams. I keep one plugged in year-round and it pays for itself every single sports season. If you buy nothing else on this page, buy this.

6. Match your subscription to the calendar

The NHL regular season runs October through mid-April, playoffs into June. Monthly plans exist for a reason: if you subscribe to the Gotham app or Fubo in July, you're donating money. Set a reminder for late September, subscribe at puck drop, cancel when the Devils' season ends. Every service on this page lets you do this, and none of them deserve your loyalty in the offseason.

What's new right now (fall 2026)

This is the time-sensitive part, so treat it accordingly. The Devils just added Jessica Campbell and Bryan McCabe to their development staff — Campbell being the trailblazer who became the NHL's first full-time female assistant coach in Seattle. It's a genuinely interesting front-office story and part of why the team is getting extra attention heading into the new season. Development staff don't change where games air, but if the hire got you curious about this roster, everything above is how you actually follow them. Preseason hockey lands in late September, with the regular season opening in early October — check the Devils' official schedule for exact dates and channel assignments, since those firm up close to opening night.

My bottom line

In-market: the Gotham Sports app if the Devils are the main thing you watch, DirecTV Stream if your household needs a full channel lineup, and under no circumstances YouTube TV or Hulu Live for this purpose. Out-of-market: ESPN+ and basically nothing else, plus HBO Max on TNT nights if you're a completist. Everyone: get the antenna.

Hockey remains the most annoying major sport to cord-cut, but it's gotten better every year I've been doing this, and the Devils are one of the more watchable teams in the league right now. Sort your subscriptions out in September, and by the time Campbell's development work starts showing up on the ice, you'll actually be able to see it.

See you at puck drop. — Marcus

— Marcus Bell