Jake Allen gives his actual opinion on the three-goalie rotation

The New Jersey Devils have gone years with a bad goaltending situation that has sunk multiple seasons. Year after year, either ineffectiveness or injury caused the Devils to lose games because the player in net was overwhelmed, underprepared, or just plain bad. 

Since Martin Brodeur retired, the Devils have had at least 18 players start in net. This doesn’t even include Corey Crawford, who decided to retire rather than play for the Devils. Other names you may not remember include Jonathan Bernier, Jon Gillies, Eddie Lack, Andrew Hammond, Aaron Dell, Louis Domingue, and Ken Appleby. 

When the Devils traded for Jacob Markstrom, those issues were expected to end. While Markstrom was older when he finally came to New Jersey, he had a history of success. 

That success did not follow him to New Jersey. His first season was fine, but then he got injured. He was really bad for a few weeks after coming back, but it was clear he got better just in time for the playoffs. Against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2025 first round, Markstrom was one of the only reasons the Devils didn’t get skated off the ice. He, along with Simon Nemec, is the reason their streak of never getting swept in a series remains intact. 

Markstrom turned into a pumpkin last year, acting as one of the worst starting goalies in the league. When Sunny Mehta took over as GM, getting out of the unnecessary Markstrom extension was one of his biggest priorities. He did that, sending Markstrom to the Florida Panthers in a deal that brought the Devils Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist. 

Many thought Mehta might look to get someone great in net. Connor Hellebuyck was at the top of every Devils fans’ list, but there were acceptable options in possibly Jordan Binnington or John Gibson. 

Mehta went in a different direction. He re-signed Nico Daws and signed former Islanders backup David Rittich to a one-year deal. 

That is a three-goalie rotation for a position where only one guy can play at a time. Many have said the three-goalie rotation can’t work. On Thursday, Jake Allen, who will lead this rotation, gave his thoughts to Daily Faceoff.

Jake Allen seems tentative on the three-goalie rotation strategy

"As long as there's clear lines of communications, and understanding where everyone stands, I think that's the biggest thing. As a goalie you're sitting there (when there's) three, you're like 'am I ever gonna play, is this guy gonna play, is my next game in two weeks in three weeks.' As long as there's a clear communications path, I don't see any problem with it."

Jake Allen, Devils goaltender

Allen talked about his last year in Montreal, where he was in a three-goalie rotation with Samuel Montembault and Cayden Primeau. He straight up said, "Personally, I didn't really like it."

However, he talked about how communication can change the perception of the strategy. His first-hand experience wasn't the best, as he said, but it led to him coming to the Devils, which worked out in the end. He also said having three goalies might end up with a team getting more points in the standings at the end of the year.

Having someone with experience of how it doesn't work actually helps Mehta and Sheldon Keefe and the revamped goalie coaching and scouting department know how to make it work. Allen is pretty clear that he just wants to know where he stands. And there's nothing wrong with asking for that.

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