Jake Allen was brought in last season to solidify the New Jersey Devils net. He was always meant to be a long-term backup, even when he was starting last season towards the end. When the Devils brought in Jacob Markstrom this offseason, the tandem was set in stone. They wanted to go as far as the Markstrom-Allen would take them.
Unfortunately, the Devils got rid of a lot of the team's depth at the position. They let Kaapo Kahkonen go in free agency, and they traded Akira Schmid to the Vegas Golden Knights in a move for Paul Cotter and a draft pick. With how many injuries the Devils faced at the goalie position over the years, it's surprising this is the position Tom Fitzgerald chose to take.
That is now coming to the forefront now that Jake Allen is injured. We thought that Allen was going to be back quickly, but it's now been 12 days, and the Devils decided to go with Jacob Markstrom and Isaac Poulter to start. Markstrom played every minute since Allen's injury on December 8th against the Avalanche.
Markstrom has been stellar, going 3-0-1 since Allen went down, but the Devils shouldn't overwork Markstrom. Losing him would be a disaster. Here's the problem, the Devils just made a move that makes it look like Allen's injury could be worse.
#NEWS: We have assigned G Isaac Poulter to Utica (AHL).
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 16, 2024
We have recalled G Nico Daws from Utica. pic.twitter.com/NKtuq1ubFD
The fact the Devils made the move to bring Daws up, who has been dealing with his own injury, shows that Jake Allen is not ready to come back. The schedule is not too bad, so the team might be playing it safe with Allen. They have just three games this week, then they have just two next week with the Christmas break.
Still, with how the Devils have treated information around injuries in the past, it's always going to be a question. When we hear someone is day-to-day, we think it could take weeks to see them again. Unless we hear something more concrete on Allen from the news breakers, we have to assume Allen is out for a little while longer. Luckily, Daws has plenty of experience in the NHL.