New Jersey Devils: What Should Mackenzie Blackwood Expect In His Next Contract?

The New Jersey Devils have already had a long offseason. While a lot has been accomplished, there’s still some work to do. At the top of this list currently is getting two of their restricted free agents in Jesper Bratt and Mackenzie Blackwood signed. As it stands right now, the key for the Devils to have a good season rests on the back of Blackwood more than any other player.

Last season, Blackwood had a record of 22-14-8, which is and beyond impressive on this team, a GAA of 2.77 and a save percentage of .915. Backup Cory Schneider in comparison had a record of 3-6-2 with a GAA of 3.53 and a save percentage of .887 while former Devils goalie Louis Domingue had an equally bad 3-8-2 record with a 3.79 Goals Against Average and a save percentage of .882.

The Devils were terrible all year and left both their goalies to fend for themselves far too often. The difference between Blackwood and the backups is a huge drop. With Blackwood in net, the Devils won 50% of their games and received at least one point in 68% of their games. If the Devils had this kind of goaltending all year, while unrealistic, they would, in theory, have been competing for a playoff spot with around 90-95 points even with a bad roster. On the flip side of this, if Blackwood got injured and the team had to run with the backup pair all year, it appears they’d have a 25% winning percentage. Without Blackwood, the Devils would have been challenging the Redwings at the bottom and be worse than teams like the Senators and Kings.

So should the Devils offer a young 23-year-old starting goalie? He’s proven he has a legit chance to be a top 5-10 goalie in the league in the next few years. For comparison, look at the second contract of other top goalies in the league. John Gibson signed for 3 years at $2.3 million per season, Andrei Vasilevskiy signed for 3 years at $3.5 million, and Matt Murray signed for 3 years at $3.75 million.

So the big question is not if the Devils sign him, but for how long. Thanks to a static cap for this year, and perhaps a few, that the most likely outcome would be a three-year deal at around 3.5 million. However, it makes a lot of sense if the Devils bet on him improving and just lock him up the rest of his prime. The offer could go for seven years around $4.5-4.8 million a year.

The Devils would know what they get from the position for a long time and from Blackwood’s side, he knows he is getting paid well for a long time and is set for life, something more players may want with the current climate of the world and its impact on the salary cap. It is a risk-reward strategy on both sides, but the guarantee for him and the Devils knowing they don’t have to pay him $6+ million a year later could be a huge deal when the team is competitive and get some big players who need deals moving forward.