The New Jersey Devils still have a few things they should be addressing before the season. First and foremost, the Devils have to re-sign Luke Hughes. They really should add a top-six forward, and a third-line center would round out this team nicely. However, still on the to-do list is what the future holds for goaltender Nico Daws.
The former third-round pick is actually one of the best draft picks of the Tom Fitzgerald era. No non-first-round pick has played more games than Daws, who has 54 appearances in the NHL.
That number might surprise many, as Daws has spent a majority of his time in the AHL and faced some hip injuries along the way, but remember that Daws has been called up to replace injured goalies in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. That’s right, Daws has played in five different calendar years despite being just 24 years old.
He has a decent level of NHL experience, and he was incredible last season. Daws finished the season with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in six games (four starts).
Teams are going to see Daws’ talent and his production from last year and likely think he’s at least worth a shot. But how much will they be willing to spend on that shot?
The return likely won’t make many Devils’ fans happy. The San Jose Sharks traded a third-round pick in 2028 for Alex Nedeljkovic. The Penguins then traded former Devils prospect Chase Stillman and a 2027 fourth-round pick for Arturs Silovs. The Carolina Hurricanes only had to give the Montreal Canadiens a seventh-round pick for Cayden Primeau.
Is Nico Daws even worth the third-round pick used to take him in today' trade market?
Those aren’t exactly big prices that teams are paying for backup goalies. Daws won’t go anywhere to be a starter, so these are the returns the Devils are looking at. Honestly, it would be short of a miracle for the Devils just to get their third-round pick back in a Daws trade.
We still believe the best option is to keep Daws on the roster. We understand the history of three-goalie tandems isn’t great, but the Devils can go out of their way to make it work.
If they don’t see that as feasible, then they are looking at probably a fourth-round pick in return for Daws, or maybe they can take a chance on another prospect that doesn’t have room on their team. They’ve done that before when trading Reilly Walsh, Graeme Clark, and Tyce Thompson in the past. This might be a place to trade for a player who needs a change of scenery.