Going into the NHL offseason, the New Jersey Devils were expected to say goodbye to backup goalie Jake Allen. He was considered the top goalie on the market, and some thought he could make north of $4 million per season. Instead, he accepted a five-year deal worth $1.8 million per season.
The Devils already have Jacob Markstrom in place as the starter, although he is in the last year of his contract. The future of the goaltending position is still in doubt, but the present is very much in place. Markstrom-Allen is the reason the Devils made the playoffs in 2025, and they deserve another run.
The big question now is, “What becomes of Nico Daws?”.
Nico Daws is now in his fifth year in the Devils organization and entering his fifth season under an NHL contract, Daws finally has a one-way contract under his belt. This means he gets his NHL salary, which pays him $850,000 this season, whether he’s in the NHL or AHL this year. His salary falls under the threshold to bury, meaning he wouldn’t count against the salary cap if he were playing for the Utica Comets. However, that brings up another issue.
Daws was very good in a small stint in the NHL last season. He had a .939 save percentage over six games. That’s amazing.
This is the third time the Devils called upon Daws in a pinch. They first asked him to step up in 2021-22. The Devils had a laundry list of injuries, and they needed the young goalie to save their season. He wasn’t able to lift them up entirely, as he ran out of gas towards the end of the season.
Daws was once again thrust into the lineup due to injuries in 2023-24. It’s another list of injuries, and Tom Fitzgerald going into the season with just Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek, that led to Daws going into the starting lineup.
And that brings us to today. The Devils have very little depth at the goaltending position. They do have two veterans in net, but they both have a history of injuries. Markstrom was injured last year and ruined his statistics when he came back. That’s how Daws got his chance in the first place.
If the Devils trade or put Daws on waivers and he’s claimed, they would be down to two goalies with NHL experience in the organization. We’ve seen that situation play out poorly in the past. So, the only path forward is keeping three goalies on the roster.
Daws may not love that proposition, but head coach Sheldon Keefe could make it work. We’ve seen three-goalie rotations fail, but the Devils had the formula when they had Mackenzie Blackwood, Jonathan Bernier, and Scott Wedgewood back in 2021. Then, Tom Fitzgerald put Wedgewood on waivers, and he was claimed by the Arizona Coyotes.
That turned out to be a mistake. The Devils should learn from this mistake. Use Daws as the backup for back-to-backs, of which the Devils have 15 this year. That avoids any chance the Devils have to use tomorrow’s starter in today’s game. Maybe give Daws a start if there’s a week with four games. Markstrom and Allen are both older, so they don’t need to play 60 games to be effective in the playoffs.
Most importantly, the Devils would have an NHL-quality goalie on the roster if either Markstrom or Allen got hurt.
The goalie market is incredibly weak. Nobody is giving up anything in trades, as proof by the Vancouver Canucks getting Chase Stillman as part of their package for Arturs Silovs. Why would the Devils accept something like a fourth-round pick for Daws when they can keep him as important depth at the position?