5 Goalies That Can Save New Jersey Devils Next Season
By Nick Villano
![Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Chicago Blackhawks stretches in warmups prior to the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on October 15, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Chicago Blackhawks stretches in warmups prior to the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on October 15, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/84d5e89eff41ac572c26cbd79459bc451999c90aedcbb88244238a70212452ef.jpg)
Cam Talbot
The Minnesota Wild will not want to trade away Cam Talbot, but they are in a really bad situation here. He’s going to be on the last year of his deal, and the Wild are losing $12.7 million in cap space due to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. That cap hit turns into $14.7 million in the 2023 and 2024 offseasons. They just don’t have the money available to make things work.
They have a bunch of contracts already signed, leaving them with just $10 million in cap space this season. With that money, they need to re-sign Kevin Fiala, re-sign their other goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, and they have to fill the rest of their lineup. It seems like an impossible task.
The one deal they could trade to make some room is Matt Dumba. He’s perpetually been in trade rumors, and he’s making $6 million per season. That’s enough that other teams don’t mind taking it on, but it’s too much for the Wild right now. However, losing Talbot’s $3.4 million would also help a ton.
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After a disastrous run between 2017 and 2019, Talbot has been really good for the Wild. He’s kept his save percentage over .910 the entire time. However, Kahkonen is clearly the goaltender of the future, and he can easily be the goaltender of the present. The Devils could swoop in and pick up Talbot for a price that doesn’t make them sweat like the Wild are. Talbot might be the right piece to replace the work the Devils thought they were getting from Bernier next year.