The Devils rebuilt their crease at the trade deadline, swapping out struggling starter Vítek Vaněček for Kaapo Kähkönen in a deal with the Sharks and acquiring Jake Allen from the Canadiens. Neither of their two pickups is a long-term solution as New Jersey continues to build around their young Jack Hughes-led core, though, and GM Tom Fitzgerald knows it. He plans to revisit his team’s uncertainty in the crease over the summer and will pursue a true starter in the process, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun wrote for The Athletic on Tuesday.
“The idea here is to try to finally reel in a stud goalie and have Allen there to create a 1A-1B situation,” LeBrun said. Allen has one season remaining at a $1.925MM cap hit, thanks to Montreal retaining half of his $3.85MM AAV in the trade.
All signs point to the Devils letting Kähkönen, who will be a UFA this summer after completing a two-year, $5.5MM deal, go to market. Fitzgerald said in his post-deadline media availability that the primary objective of the trade with San Jose was shedding Vaněček’s $3.4MM cap hit for this season and next.
A bonafide number-one netminder is Fitzgerald’s first choice, and he’s willing to surrender the assets to make it work. As such, LeBrun said New Jersey will re-engage in talks with the Flames and Predators regarding Jacob Markström and Juuse Saros, who could be on the move regardless of whether the Devils swing a deal for them.
The Devils attempted to acquire Markström, who has a no-move clause in his contract, before this year’s deadline. After talks initially fizzled out due to the Flames’ unwillingness to retain salary in a trade, Fitzgerald re-engaged with an offer that included New Jersey taking on all of Markström’s $6MM cap hit through 2026.
Markström reportedly waived his no-move clause to green-light the trade, but the Flames ended up not moving him as the team was making progress toward a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. This caused the goaltender to publicly voice his discontent with the Calgary front office. The Flames have lost all three games after the deadline, each by four or more goals, and now stand with just a 2.2% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck.
The Devils also talked with Nashville about Saros but didn’t get as far down the road. Unlike Markström, Saros will be a pending UFA beginning on July 1 and does not have trade protection. He also costs $1MM less than his Swedish counterpart.
If Fitzgerald swings for the fences on both and misses twice, it’s possible the Devils would still rather look for a tandem netminder to partner with Allen, keeping youngsters Nico Daws and Akira Schmid in the minors. Options on the UFA market will be slim, though – in fact, Kähkönen would be one of the better pickups if that’s how they opted to address their crease. Other top options are either on the precipice of decline (Marc-André Fleury, Cam Talbot) or have been inconsistent when given expanded roles (Kähkönen, Alex Nedeljkovic, Ilya Samsonov).
While Daws and Schmid are promising options and have more NHL games in their future, neither projects as a true starter. If New Jersey wants to truly kick off its window of contention with talents like Jack and Luke Hughes, Dawson Mercer and Simon Nemec, all 23 years old or less, they’ll need a more veteran presence as a longer-term answer.
sweetg
Feel sorry for Conroy owners threw him under the bus. Just like Ross Atkins threw john schneider under the bus. guess when you are boss. you make final decision leave others to explain take heat.
User 1323105297
“Saros will be a pending UFA beginning on July 1”
Not accurate Brother Josh…
Saros is signed through 2025. Becomes a Free Agent after next season.
Josh Erickson
That is what a pending UFA means
Josh Erickson
As in beginning July 1, he’ll have one year left on his deal
tree2436
Boston will make Ullmark available in the offseason
pawtucket
No shortage of good goalies available. Only issue is that they are temporary unless you want to give Ullmark a 6 year deal
Jersey should go after Knight. Still young and plenty of talent just needs to get clean
RipperMagoo
Does anyone believe Fitzgerald is capable of determining what to look for in a goalie?
SpeakOfTheDevils
Screw it go after Swayman, if not him then Saros
pawtucket
Too bad the picks are not there to offer sheet Swayman. 7×7
Boston would struggle to match that
SpeakOfTheDevils
Can always trade for picks, or just try to trade for his rights
Josh Erickson
Acquired draft picks can’t be used as offer-sheet compensation. They have to be your own picks
bruin4ever
Boston would match that offer in the first 5 seconds. Look at their cap space this summer, they then trade Ullmark.