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3 Goalies New Jersey Devils Should Target That Nobody is Talking About

The usual names in goalie trade talks continue to go on. Maybe waiting until the offseason gives Tom Fitzgerald more options in the goalie market. These are three of those possible names that nobody has been talking about that could become available.

By Nick Natale

Vegas Golden Knights v New Jersey Devils
Vegas Golden Knights v New Jersey Devils / Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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Karel Vejmelka - Arizona Coyotes

If there's one thing the league should learn is that acquiring a goalie from the Coyotes directly leads to the Stanley Cup. We've seen it in back-to-back years. In 2022 it was Darcy Kuemper and the Colorado Avalanche. In 2023 it was Adin Hill and the Vegas Golden Knights. Maybe 2025 it can be Vejmelka and the Devils.

Good vibes aside, Vejmelka would be an interesting route if Fitzgerald went with more of a 50/50 split in goal. He has put up very OKAY numbers on a poor Coyotes team over the past three seasons. In his 2022-23 season, he put up a pedestrian 3.43 GAA and a 0.900 SV% but had a very good 11.1 GSAx serving as the team's number one. In 2023-24, Vejmelka has been working as the number two goalie behind Connor Ingram, where in 33 games so far he's recorded a 3.24 GAA, a 0.902 SV%, and a 0.7 GSAx.

The reason why Arizona may decide to move off of Vejmalka is a couple actually. First, Ingram has taken the net as their number one for the foreseeable future as he continues to put up ridiculous numbers behind a porous defense. Second, he has a $2.75 million cap hit through next year, and while Arizona isn't in cap trouble, they may need to replace their entire defense core. And finally, Arizona has a stud goalie prospect by the name of Michael Hrabal who just finished up an incredible season with the University of Massachusetts and may be able to serve as the number two behind Ingram next year.

It would be hard to imagine Fitzgerald going this route, and the fanbase might riot outside of the Prudential Center if he did. However, there is a universe where teams like Calgary, Nashville, and Boston try and hold Fitzgerald over a barrel and ask for way too much. In that case, he may look at Allen's strong play as a reason to go with an even tandem in net, rather than a number one and number two split. It would be risky, but again, history has shown Coyotes goalies rise to the occasion once they leave the desert.

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