New Jersey Devils to Hunt for a Goaltender This Summer

The New Jersey Devils elected to acquire stop-gap goaltenders at the NHL trade deadline, which means speculation about their off-season netminding plans has just begun.

The New Jersey Devils failed to land a bona fide starting goaltender before the recent NHL trade deadline. GM Tom Fitzgerald settled for stopgap measures, shipping struggling Vitek Vanecek to the San Jose Sharks for Kaapo Kahkonen and sending a conditional draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens for Jake Allen.

Moving out Vanecek for pending free agent Kahkonen clears $3.4 million off the Devils' books for next season. They also convinced the Canadiens to retain half of Allen's $3.85-million cap hit.

Fitzgerald was close to a trade last month with the Calgary Flames for Jacob Markstrom, but that fell through over salary retention amid whispers that Flames ownership nixed the deal. He also looked into the Nashville Predators' Juuse Saros and the Columbus Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins, and there was speculation he might target the Boston Bruins' Linus Ullmark.

The Hockey News' Kristy Flannery cited Fitzgerald saying his goalie moves would give his club the salary-cap flexibility to hone in on what he believes will be available this summer. The Athletic's Peter Baugh reported the Devils GM indicated he wants to go “big-game hunting” to make a major move in net.

Fitzgerald could revisit his attempt to acquire Markstrom. That will depend on whether the relationship between the goaltender and Flames management remains strained, as well as his willingness to waive his no-movement clause.

Saros could be available depending on the status of his contract extension talks with the Predators this summer. Ullmark is another option if the Bruins move him out to make room for Jeremy Swayman as their full-time starter. That's assuming the Devils aren't on his 15-team no-trade list.

Merzlikins is signed through 2026-27 with a $5.4-million average annual value and a 10-team no-trade list. His inconsistent play, however, would make him an expensive gamble for the Devils.

The same goes for Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson. He's frequently surfaced as a trade candidate, but his stats have suffered backstopping the rebuilding Ducks. His $6.4-million cap hit through 2026-27 makes him the most expensive of this bunch.