The New Jersey Devils hope this upcoming season will see them make the playoffs for the first time since 2025. With such high expectations, the team has been doing everything it can to ensure there are no holes on the roster. One area of concern is goaltending. It is a position that has held the Devils back in the past, and there were no real improvements to it this offseason. But the answer is already on the roster: Jake Allen gives the Devils their best chance to compete. But why should fans feel comfortable with Allen?
Allen is coming off a solid season in more of a backup role. In 37 games last year, he posted a 2.74 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. That is a big improvement from when he struggled with the Canadiens just a few seasons ago. It was also better than what Jacob Markstrom did last season. In 44 games, Markstrom had a 3.07 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage.
Sure, Markstrom played in seven more games than Allen, but the gap isn’t big enough to say that’s why the numbers differ. All of Allen's underlying metrics suggest he can sustain this success over a large sample size. He has also put up numbers like this for the majority of his time with the Devils. He should have no issue repeating this next season, even if he's asked to play more games.
Jake Allen can hold down the net for the Devils
When you factor in his contract, he becomes even more valuable. He is set to make only $1.8 million this season and will not hit the open market until the end of the 2029-30 season. This was already a cheap contract, but with the cap quickly rising over these next few seasons, this is going to be nothing. Getting fringe starting goaltending numbers for a price tag that low allows the Devils more financial flexibility to upgrade other areas of the roster. Especially when the Devils have under one million in cap space.
The only player the Devils can bring in that would be an upgrade over Allen is Connor Hellebuyck. However, Hellebuyck is due eight and a half million annually until the end of the 2030-31 season. That is an extra year and just over $6.5 million more annually. Sure, Hellebuyck is a much better goalie than Allen, but it will restrict the Devils from improving in other areas. Plus, with all the moves they would have to make to get the finances to work, it will make the Devils a worse team overall.
While he is not the big-name goalie Devils fans were hoping for, Allen is good enough to keep the Devils competitive this upcoming season. He will put in a good enough performance for them to win games and give them the financial flexibility to make other moves.
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