New Jersey Devils: 5 Goalies To Trade For Not Named John Gibson
The New Jersey Devils have resisted the urge to make a move for a superstar goalie. However, as the free agency board dwindles, the trade option is wide open.
All we’ve heard about the New Jersey Devils over the past few weeks is how they will be in the market for a goalie. Obviously, the conversation has surrounded Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson. They are the two options that made it pretty clear they want to play for another team next season.
One of those options the Devils should avoid completely. The other, the Devils might avoid if the price hasn’t gone down. Tom Fitzgerald has been known to use his assets (years worth of quality prospects and future picks) to get the right mix of stars and complimentary players in the fold. That’s how he got Timo Meier at the trade deadline, and that’s how he traded for Tyler Toffoli right before the NHL Draft.
Now, it seems the only real hole on the roster is in net, and that’s not really a hole. Vitek Vanecek was a really good regular season goalie. Akira Schmid is the reason the Devils own a series win over the New York Rangers. Yet, some believe the Devils won’t be able to win it all without a superstar goalie. So, let’s see who is actually available in trade.
Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
We’ll make this one quick. We’ve covered how we feel about Connor Hellebuyck many times. He’s a high-reward acquisition. Hellebuyck can win the Devils a Stanley Cup. That would be great under his current contract. If he gets $9+ million in future years, that’s a risk not worth taking. It puts everything on this year.
There is value to just getting Hellebuyck as a rental. It’s not worth the Devils top prospects underneath Simon Nemec. Let’s see how it works out. It would be fantastic for 2023-24. It would be downright scary for 2025 and beyond.
Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are in the unenviable position of having very little salary cap space while having to figure out major holes in the lineup. They might not have the luxury of holding two fantastic goalies. Linus Ullmark was literally the Vezina Trophy winner this past season. He’s signed for two more seasons at $5 million.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Swayman just filed for salary arbitration. While Ullmark was ranked as the best goalie in hockey, Swayman was just as fantastic. He had a .920 save percentage in 33 starts. In those starts, he had six regulation losses. His 11.6 goals saved above average was 13th in the league at 5v5. Every player above him had more starts.
Swayman might be the perfect subject for the Devils. He’s going to get a raise. The Bruins might not be able to give it to him if Patrice Bergeron comes back.
The Devils would likely have to pay a premium to bring Swayman to New Jersey. The Bruins know the Devils are now a target for their quest to win the Stanley Cup. Despite making some smaller trades (they just did the Reilly Smith for Shane Bowers swap a few weeks ago), making a trade this big is probably not in the cards for either team. Still, Tom Fitzgerald should ask.
Juuse Saros – Nashville Predators
Who knows what’s happening in Nashville. They literally cut Matt Duchene and traded Ryan Johansen away for salary cap relief. Then, they signed Ryan O’Reilly to a four-year deal and added Luke Schenn. Barry Trotz first year as GM has a strange direction. There were rumors that Yaroslav Askarov was made available if a team would be willing to give them a top-five pick. That seemed like a special situation with the draft in Nashville.
Now, the rumors are swirling that Juuse Saros could be had. It would probably cost a ton, but Saros might be the right superstar to target. He has a track record in the playoffs, and he’s younger than Hellebuyck. He’s 28 years old, and he has two years left on his contract at $5 million per season. That alone might be worth whatever the Predators ask for in a trade. If the Devils find the right extension, that would make it even better.
Fitzgerald also has a track record with the Predators. He traded a seventh-round pick to the Preds at this year’s draft so David Poile could make one last draft pick before he retired. Fitz was their first captain. There’s a history there.
There’s also a history of Fitzgerald targeting large goalies. Saros is the opposite of that. While he’s not short when compared to the average forward, 5’11 is incredibly short for a goalie. If that’s not a dealbreaker for Fitzgerald, he would be a very interesting target.
Filip Gustavsson – Minnesota Wild
This one might be a long shot, but Filip Gustavsson just filed for salary arbitration. Bill Guerin has been a GM who doesn’t deal with nonsense. If this negotiation goes bad, we can see the Minnesota Wild shopping for what they can get for him. The Devils are in an interesting position where they can afford to trade the Wild an NHL goalie, a prospect goalie, and another major piece for Gustavsson.
We don’t think the Devils would trade Vanecek and Schmid for Gustavsson, but they could trade Nico Daws or even Tyler Brennan in the deal for Gustavsson. It makes a lot of sense.
Gustavsson was surprisingly one of the best goalies in the league when it comes from a per start basis. He was fourth in goals saved above average at 5v5 (according to Natural Stat Trick) in the entire NHL. He was better than Saros despite having 25 fewer starts. The Devils prioritize those stats.
Gustavsson was even good in the playoffs. In five games, he had a .920 save percentage. The Devils would love to have a playoff performer like that. The Devils could pay the man, and then he could still fight for starts with Schmid. He’s just 25 years old, so it fits right in where the Devils want to be.
Spencer Knight – Florida Panthers
This one might take some convincing, but the Florida Panthers former first-round pick missed most of this season when he entered the NHL and NHLPA’s shared player assistance program. It would be in bad taste to talk about Knight’s “value” in light of all this.
What we can talk about is how the Panthers made the Stanley Cup Final without Knight. Sergei Bobrovsky turned back the clock, carrying the team with Matthew Tkachuk to an Eastern Conference championship. Just to get in the playoffs, Alex Lyon carried the team in the regular season. The Panthers were just fine with Knight getting himself better.
Knight is back on the ice, and it looks like he is ready to restart his career. Meanwhile, the Panthers signed Anthony Stolarz to a one-year contract. That seems like a safety valve for the Panthers if Knight isn’t ready.
Next. 5 Free Agents Devils Should Consider Still. dark
Knight’s $4.5 million contract could also open a lot for the Panthers if he was on another team. He is still a fantastic talent. The Devils could be just what he needs to get his head right in the game of hockey. Knight was hanging out with Trevor Zegras, who is very good friends with Jack Hughes. Knight and Hughes came up together in the US development program. They have a bond from that, and the way Hughes has created this bond in the locker room could be the right environment for Knight to thrive.