New Jersey Devils: 5 Backup Goalies To Target In Free Agency
The New Jersey Devils thought they had their backup goalie problem fixed for the first time in years. Since 2013, the second goalie always seemed to be an issue. That season, Johan Hedberg seemed to lose his shine in the last season of his career. Martin Brodeur was also late in his career, and he couldn’t lift up the position like he used to (also, he got injured). Since then, it’s been the hardest thing to find the right secondary option in net. Sometimes Cory Schneider falls off a map, other times Brodeur was struggling to stay healthy, and there was the season Keith Kinkaid could not live up to his best work.
Last season, that was supposed to be fixed. The Devils had what looked like an elite option in Mackenzie Blackwood, but with the weird schedule, the Devils needed a reliable second option. Tom Fitzgerald signed former Stanley Cup Champion Corey Crawford to a two-year deal. He should have still been here now, but he decided that retirement was the best option for him instead of playing a game away from the Chicago Blackhawks organization.
That left the Devils with Scott Wedgewood, Aaron Dell, and for one game Eric Comrie to hold down backup duties. Wedgewood looked pretty good at times, but he wasn’t consistent enough to be a long-term option as a backup.
Lucky enough for the Devils, this year has a stacked free-agent market for goalies. There are options for long-term deals, short-term deals, high-priced options, and then some high-upside options to play behind Blackwood.
With a more normal season, the Devils can be picky with their goalie option. Hopefully, Blackwood comes out stronger after COVID really destroyed this season for him and the team. The Devils still should look hard at a 1A-1B scenario. Which goalies should the Devils target?
Philipp Grubauer
The New Jersey Devils have the money to go big on the free-agent market. Even without considering the expansion draft, the Devils have $37 million in cap space with Yegor Sharangovich as their most important restricted free agent signing. They have money to spend, and there is one Vezina Trophy finalist on the market. The Colorado Avalanche’s netminder Philipp Grubauer was really, really good this season. It came at the right time, as Grubauer is ready to head to market.
The Devils would love to have a Grubauer-Blackwood combo. Grubauer’s biggest flaw is staying healthy, and Blackwood’s biggest flaw is staying consistent. If the Devils paired these two together, then it would really help with both flaws. Grubauer would only have to play about 45 games, and the Devils could go to Grubauer if Blackwood needed a week to catch his breath.
The cost here might make it a little strange. Grubauer is 29 years old, and he’s going to want term on this deal. The issue for the Devils is Grubauer played 40 games this season, which is a career high. He isn’t a player who can take the load year in and year out. How much will the Devils want to pay for that now that he’s going into his 30s?
There are other options on the board for the Devils, and Grubauer might end up being too expensive. He is absolutely worth a meeting for Tom Fitzgerald.
Jaroslav Halak
The Boston Bruins have had Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak in net for just about every game for the past three seasons. They’ve had the two as their goalie tandem as they tried to make this a position of power in what is becoming a higher-scoring league. Now, they could be looking at completely revamping the position with both Halak and Rask going to free agency. Rask is obviously the better option, but he’s going to be a lot more expensive.
Halak is a little older, but once a goalie is in his mid-30s the dropoff is precipitous either way. The Devils would be looking to sign Halak for only one or two years. Halak is the same age as Crawford would be at this point, so the Devils might be looking to bring in a veteran Halak for a year in order to get someone safe behind Blackwood.
Halak struggled at times this season with a .905 save percentage in 19 games. It was obviously a weird year, and Halak has been pretty consistently in the .915 to .920 range for the past seven years. So, one year can be ignored.
Halak is a very short-term option that would be in the $2-3 million range. He’s definitely not a bad option. The Devils will likely try and look at the veteran options before seeing what else is out there.
Freddie Andersen
The rumor is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are circling back to their former starting goalie Freddie Andersen to see if there is a reunion to be had. Jack Campbell took the starting job last season, and Andersen was watching as the Maple Leafs were knocked out of the first round AGAIN. While there’s a conversation between his agent and the Leafs, and the reunion seems unlikely. That agent is former New Jersey Devils star, Claude Lemieux.
Usually, those connections don’t matter, but it could mean something for the Devils who are always looking for a leg up. Andersen is only 31 years old, so he still has a lot left in the tank. He was excelling at times in Toronto, but that media market was not very fair to him. He took a lot more blame than he deserved. He’s probably looking to go to a place that’s a little less stressful.
Andersen is coming off two straight seasons where he wasn’t as good as he was earlier in his career. For the first time in his career, Andersen had a full season under a .900 save percentage. Andersen was once one of the best in the league. Now, he’s fighting to figure out where he fits.
The Devils could definitely get Andersen to sign on for two or three years and let a player like Nico Daws or Akira Schmid grow in the AHL before they are ready to take the backup or starting job in a few years.
Antti Raanta
Antti Raanta has had an interesting career, but he’s never really been a starter in his time in Chicago, New York, and Arizona. Once he had a year with more than 40 starts. Last season, he only had 12 starts. Now, he’s 32 years old and he’s in an absolutely stacked free agent market. Where will someone like Raanta land, who had just 11 starts last season and put up a .905 save percentage?
If the Devils want a backup that comes with a backup price, Raanta is the perfect fit. It’s likely he can bounce right back into his 2019-20 form where he had a .921 save percentage. Even if he comes back to Earth with a .915 save percentage, it will be a lot better than Devils backups for the past five years.
The Devils NEED someone who can start 25 games every season. They WANT someone who can start 40 games. Raanta has started 40, but it is much better to go into the relationship thinking he’s closer to that 25 games and then be surprised if he goes higher. His future would actually make a ton of sense in New Jersey. He’s used to playing in Arizona where he can be in slight obscurity and he also once played for the Rangers, so he’s used to the area.
Raanta would be a good pickup at the right price. He’s making $4.25 million per season right now. There’s no way he’s getting a deal like that again. He’s looking at the $2 million range, and the Devils should be in that position. If the team is looking to stay in the Dougie Hamilton race, then the Devils will need to save a little money on the backup position. Raanta is a smart move to make.
Petr Mrazek
The Carolina Hurricanes enjoyed their time with the former Detroit Red Wings starter, but Petr Mrazek might be looking for new pastures after this past season. The Canes found the future of the position with Alex Nedeljkovic. They have to negotiate a new contract with the Calder Trophy finalist. They also are losing James Reimer on top of Mrazek. So, the Canes need to revamp the goalie position, but unlike the Bruins, at least they have one that’s not leaving the building.
Mrazek could be going back to Carolina, but we’re getting very close to the free agency period and there’s no deal. It’s likely Mrazek will at least hear from other teams before making his decision.
Mrazek has had at least 40 starts in five of the past six seasons. He would be a clear “1B” option. Pairing Mrazek with Blackwood would add an option that knows what it’s like to be on a winner. He brings experience while also being one of the younger options on the goalie market.
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Mrazek is just 29 years old. and the Devils could give him a four-year deal without blinking. He’s probably the most sensible option for the Devils. He has been good for a long time. While he only had 12 games last year, he still had a .923 save percentage. Adding him to the goalie tandem while the Devils’ young goalies grow just makes too much sense.