The New Jersey Devils figure to be one of the most active teams in the NHL trade market and in free agency this offseason, primarily to address the various roster holes left by underperforming players at the forward positions.
However, there is one position that carries some uncertainty for the Devils, and that is goalie.
As it stands right now, backup goalie and former Stanley Cup champion Jake Allen is set to hit free agency, playing himself into a well-earned raise if he is to leave New Jersey and test the open market.
At the same time, though, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald is open to and considering the possibility of keeping the 34-year-old on the team beyond 2025.
"As far as goaltending, Jake Allen is one of the better ones on the market. His camp tells me he would like to stay," Fitzgerald told Mike Morreale of NHL.com. "He really enjoyed his time here. We're trying to figure out what that number is, and then does it work for us?"
Allen's price is indeed key to any potential return to the Devils, as the team currently has just $12 million in cap space with Luke Hughes, Curtis Lazar, Justin Dowling, Daniel Sprong, Cody Glass, Brian Dumoulin, Nathan Bastian, and Nolan Foote all needing to be re-signed or replaced this summer.
Plus, seeking out upgrades on underperformers like Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, and Dawson Mercer is not going to be a cheap practice.
Fitzgerald and the Devils could opt to cut corners and turn the keys over to youngster Nico Daws, who impressed in a brief six-game cameo this season but boasts an NHL career save percentage of .898 across 52 games.
Allen, meanwhile, was 13-16-1 this season with a 2.66 GAA, a .908 save percentage, and four shutouts. While the negative record and average save percentage seem lackluster, he filled in admirably for an injured, and later struggling, Jacob Markstrom, and the Devils more than likely miss the playoffs this season without him.
Could the New Jersey Devils re-sign Jake Allen?
Hockey analytics site Evolving-Hockey currently predicts that Allen, in the event he re-signs with the Devils, receives a two-year contract with a reasonable $2.579 million cap hit. Allen has a 23% chance to re-sign for one year, a 42% chance to re-sign for two, and a 21% chance to re-sign for three, according to Evolving-Hockey.
It may not be money the Devils want to spend at the position, but they truly cannot afford to take such needless risks at a time when they wish to compete for a Stanley Cup every year. And the older Markstrom gets, the more important it is to have a capable backup goalie waiting in the wings.