We've been telling the New Jersey Devils that the smartest thing for them to do this season was to carry three goalies on the NHL roster who have the ability to play at this level. We're not talking about a fill in, like they did last season when they signed Keith Kinkaid and Erik Kallgren to come in if an emergency happened (which it did, and they weren't good enough to play still). We're more referencing what they attempted to do with Scott Wedgewood in 2021, where he was sitting behind Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier.
The Devils situation last year called for multiple goalies. Vitek Vanecek fell off a cliff. Nico Daws got injured. Akira Schmid wasn't very good all of a sudden. And nobody would trade the Devils a goalie. The Devils finally got some things moving, trading for Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen at the deadline, but by then, it was too late.
This offseason, it would make sense if the Devils traded for another goalie and left them on the roster. They could even sign someone who would work as an extra. However, they decided against the strategy. They don't really have a good backup plan if one of Allen or Jacob Markstrom gets injured. Allen was just injured at the same time Daws was dealing with a slight ailment, and they had to bring Isaac Poulter up from the Utica Comets. He's a nice story and we're happy he's getting paid, but we don't want him in net for a Cup contender.
It seems like the Devils might have an option to hold that spot. The Montreal Canadiens put their backup goalie Cayden Primeau on waivers on Saturday. The Devils could just claim Primeau for free and have that third goalie option. He could even play backup on back-to-backs, giving Allen and Markstrom useful nights off.
Les Canadiens ont soumis le gardien Cayden Primeau au ballottage dans le but de le céder au Rocket de Laval.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 28, 2024
The Canadiens have placed goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers for the purpose of a loan to the Laval Rocket. pic.twitter.com/IjKoNjdsQt
Cayden Primeau is not the right fit for the New Jersey Devils.
Unfortunately, Primeau is not the right player for this role. For one, he's been terrible this season. He has an .836 save percentage this season. For context, that's 54 points worse than Vanecek's save percentage last season.
Primeau did have a .910 save percentage in 23 games last season, but looking at his career, that season seems like the outlier, not this one. He just hasn't been a good goalie in his time in the NHL, and he probably deserves to play in the AHL.
The Devils would need some kind of stability at that position, even though it's a hard ask since it's for a third goalie who would need to be making the minimum NHL salary. Honestly, last year's goalie Kaapo Kahkonen would be an ideal candidate, and he was just on waivers. It's not the end of the world, but the Devils need Markstrom to stay healthy if they are going to keep this arrangement in place between him and Allen with no safety net.