Be it now or in the future, the New Jersey Devils and new general manager Sunny Mehta are going to have to find a real answer for their perpetuated problems at the goalie position.
The aging Jacob Markstrom has shown major signs of decline and received a two-year, $12 million extension from then-Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald anyway, and Jake Allen, who is also up there in age, has performed well in a backup role for the last several years. There's no telling when the ceiling might fall out on him, and regardless, the Devils don't have a starter they can rely upon.
But, there is a glimmer of hope that the Devils can just stumble backward into an answer there, and Quinn Hughes can help with the scouting report if need be.
Top Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt took over as the team's starting goalie for their first-round playoff matchup with the Dallas Stars, with John Hynes opting to leave Filip Gustavsson to backup duty.
When The Athletic tried to approach him for an interview, Gustavsson instead insisted that they "talk to the players who are playing."
That isn't anything to necessarily suggest that he or the Wild want to make a trade, but the Wild have long poked around for reinforcements at the forward positions over the last few seasons, and if Wallstedt is the starting goalie for the playoffs now, it is quite unlikely Gustavsson reclaims the crease for the rest of his tenure in Minnesota, barring an injury or something else.
The 27-year-old has, like Markstrom, battled with his own inconsistency, having a .931 save percentage in 2022-23, a .899 save percentage in 2023-24, a .914 save percentage and a career-high five shutouts in 2024-25, and then a .904 save percentage this year, which was cratered by a poor run of form to end the season.
Where things become interesting for the Wild is that Gustavsson will see his five-year, $34 million extension ($6.8 million AAV) with the Wild kick in on July 1, which is a substantial increase on his previous cap hit of $3.75 million. If the Wild want to allocate those funds towards a forward, and if the player wants a starting opportunity--he has a full no-move clause--there is no reason to believe a trade isn't possible.
The Minnesota Wild might be the key to the New Jersey Devils' goalie solution
For the Devils, Allen has a full no-trade clause until 2027-28, but Markstrom, when his $6 million cap hit and subsequent extension kick in on July 1, will see his full no-move clause drop to a 20-team no-trade list. The Wild wouldn't exchange goalies to save $800k on the cap, but Mehta and Co. could get aggressive with the opportunity and retain $3 million on Markstrom for a modest two years.
It isn't an ideal situation for the already cap-strapped Devils, who need to re-sign RFAs Arseny Gritsyuk and Simon Nemec, but they have plenty of routes to explore when it comes to alleviating some of the financial stress for a greater cause in net.
Dawson Mercer, Maxim Tsyplakov, Dougie Hamilton, Johnny Kovacevic, Nick Bjugstad, and Stefan Noesen are all players who may not survive the summer in New Jersey.
To allow Mikhail Yegorov the appropriate amount of time to develop, the Devils desperately need to find an intermediate-term solution at goalie, and Gustavsson is as good an option as they'll find anywhere in the NHL right now.
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