Goaltending was a key reason why the 2023-24 New Jersey Devils were a disappointment and missed the playoffs. This post previews the goaltending position for 2024-25, which will be led with a new tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen.
The biggest problem with the 2023-24 New Jersey Devils was goaltending. No, it was not “toughness.” No, it was not The Big Deal correctly stating that people pay to see him play. There were issues among the coaching and defensive play to be sure that made a bad problem worse. And injuries absolutely did not help at all. But the simplest explanation to last season’s disappointment was that the 2023-24 New Jersey Devils had too many nights where too many pucks went behind the goalies who did not make enough stops. The goaltenders were not good enough. That is your chief reason why their season was so disappointing in 2023-24. That is your main reason why they missed the playoffs. It bears repeating. The goaltenders were not good enough.
This is not just my opinion. New Jersey Devils management would agree based on what they did with the position. Judge General Manager Tom Fitzgerald by his actions, not his words. Last season’s tandem that started last season is no longer with the organization. Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid were shipped out. The tandem that ended last season was Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen and Kahkonen was free to leave. Fitzgerald wanted a Name goaltender and he got one in Jacob Markstrom. The only returning personnel involving goaltenders are players in the pipeline and, strangely, Goaltending Coach Dave Rogalski. That is still plenty of change that would not be happening if Vanecek-Schmid performed better in 2023-24. As the Devils enter a season of importance to get back to the playoffs, much of that success will be leaning on the goaltenders. Let us look at the position ahead of this coming season.
A Look Back at How Bad It Was
To appreciate what the position holds for this coming season, we need to look at last season one more time. The Devils, as a team, put up a save percentage of 90.38% in 5-on-5 play, 5th worst in the NHL, and 88.58% in all situations play, 3rd worst in the NHL, according to Natural Stat Trick. League median percentages last season were 91.24% in 5-on-5 play and 89.77% in all situations play; the Devils were far from the median. Given that teams face anywhere from 2,100 to 2,800 shots per season, a difference of a percentage or a fraction of a percent does mean something. In this case, goals allowed. The Devils allowed 280 in all situations, 7th most in the NHL, and 185 in 5-on-5 situations, also 7th most in the NHL – both according to Natural Stat Trick.
What would have it looked like for the Devils to have league median-level goaltending? Assuming all shots being equal and that the team still faced 2,452 shots in all situations (which was around league median last season), the Devils would have had allowed 251 more goals. That would be an improvement of 29 goals. Given that an improvement of six in goal differential guarantees a win, that’s nearly five wins. Again, the Devils missed the playoffs by 10 points last season. Five wins would have put them in a tie in points for the last playoff spot. I repeat: Goaltending was a key reason for last season’s disappointment.
But that is theory. What about history? The Devils used five goaltenders last season. Three they had in their system at the start of 2023-24 and two more after the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Have a chart of the performances from all five thanks to NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick.
NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick
Legend: GSAA stands for Goals Saved Above Average (higher is better), LD is for Low Danger, MD is for Medium Danger, HD is for High Danger, Sv% is for Save Percentage, PK Sv% is for Penalty Kill
In retrospect, the Devils goaltenders were really rough. The Devils won games often in spite of Vitek Vanecek. This led to more appearances for Vanecek because Ruff absolutely works on the “Team wins, goalie stays” logic. That led to more appearances for Vanecek to get shelled in. While he was actually good against low and medium danger shots, high danger shots crushed him. A goalie stopping around 82-83% is decent. 74.2% in 5-on-5 and 73.6% in all situations made Vanecek one of the worst against those kinds of shots. That sank his numbers. Vanecek and a seventh round pick in 2025 was sent to San Jose on March 8, 2024 – the NHL Trade Deadline – to bring in Kahkonen.
Akira Schmid, hero of the 2023 Playoffs, did not have the team bail his performances out with wins. He quickly became the #2 option behind Vanecek despite Vanecek’s issues. Schmid was better but not much better statistically. Whereas he was closer to being decent on high danger shots, he was well below the 90-91% you would want a goalie to be on medium danger shots. Despite the playoff success, the Devils were not as interested in bringing him along. Schmid spent a good part of 2023-24 as a Utica Comet, wherein he did not really impress with an 89.4% overall save percentage in 23 games. Amid this or perhaps after 2023-24, it was determined that he would not have a future here. He was sent to Las Vegas at the 2024 NHL Draft along with Alexander Holtz to end his time in New Jersey.
Nico Daws was recovering from hip surgery to start 2023-24. Once he was able to return to Utica, New Jersey quickly called Daws up. Daws made his season debut on December 29. Then he got rolling with a run of appearances in January and, later in February. The January run started with some meh appearances, two great ones, and three unimpressive ones. The February run saw Daws post up four straight 90% save percentage nights followed by one in his next five. He had the opportunities to stick but he ended up statistically performing like Schmid with a notable worse penalty kill save percentage. The usage combined with missing most of the first half of a hockey season meant just 10 appearances in Utica, where he posted an unimpressive 89% save percentage. But the Devils have more faith in Daws. Daws was re-signed in this offseason with a contract structure that may give him a shot in New Jersey at being the #2 goalie in 2025-26.
Fitzgerald knew goaltending was a problem. He tried to swing a deal for Jacob Markstrom of Calgary, who wanted out instead of sticking with a rebuilding Flames team. A deal was apparently ready to be made but Calgary pulled out late, possibly due to ownership stepping in to deny it. That basically burned the bridge for Markstrom in Calgary and a trade would be made later in the offseason. At the deadline, with a Devils team still having some playoff hope, Fitzgerald would revamp the goaltending tandem entirely. Vanecek yielded Kahkonen. A third round pick yielded Jake Allen from Montreal.
Between the two, the Devils went with Allen more and more. Kahkonen, a pending free agent, did not figure into the Devils’ plans from the get-go. As such, he was limited to six games. Despite the record, Kahkonen did his job quite well. His save percentages do have to be taken with a grain of salt given how little he played. But he put up far better ones than anyone on the Devils. Kahkonen was able to get a contract from Winnipeg in the offseason, where he will likely back up Connor Hellebuyck. Best of luck to him. (Aside: Keeping Kahkonen would have been a defendable move but given that he got all of 6 games in a dying season, the Devils never saw him as someone to keep.)
Allen, who is signed for this season, was given more ice time. Ultimately, his numbers were not great either – but they represented an improvement. Allen put up a far better high danger save percentage than any of the three Devils goalies before him. The veteran was able to make some Tough Saves more often. Something the Devils, from the People Who Matter to the People Who Are In Charge, desperately needed to see more of in 2023-24. Allen still had issues. Medium danger saves were not so good and he weirdly had some low danger shots beat him a bit more often. But he represented a sign of perhaps what could have been had Fitzgerald opted to make a move for a goalie earlier. Alas.
If this seems all negative, then that is the point. To make it all worse, the Devils had the same goaltender coach for all of them: Dave Rogalski. The former St. Louis goalie coach has a track record of working with a lot of goalies without a lot of success. One would think that a track record like that combined with an overhaul of the goaltending position would lead the Devils to hire someone else to be a goaltender coach. Especially after they hired a new head coach in Sheldon Keefe. Not the case. Rogalski is still the guy and is still here.
The only positive one could find among goaltenders and the Devils in 2023-24 outside of prospects is Isaac Poulter. He signed with Utica after his junior career at Swift Current ended in 2022. In 2022-23, Poulter did not do so well with the Comets but did perform well for the Adirondack Thunder. With Daws still recovering, the Comets needed to rely on others – namely Erik Kallgren and Poulter – to fill in until Daws returned. Poulter made the most of his opportunity. With Daws called up, Poulter ultimately got to play in 28 games, post a 91.1% save percentage, earn four shutouts, and go back to the Thunder to be an awesome goalie in their deep playoff run. Most importantly, Poulter was given an entry level contract by the New Jersey Devils in February. He became eligible to play in NHL games and did dress as a backup for a game. It remains to be seen whether Poulter’s ceiling is the NHL but the Devils rewarded the one goalie in their professional system who did well with a contract. That is both good for Poulter and an indictment of the Devils’ pro goalies.
The Goaltenders for 2024-25
Knowing and being reminded all of the above explains to how we got here. Vanecek and Schmid are gone. Allen is here on the final season of his contract. Daws was kept but on a two-way deal for one more season. Poulter will be directly competing with Daws for minutes in this preseason and in Utica. Oh, and Fitzgerald managed to get his big name goaltender in Jacob Markstrom after all. All for a first and Kevin Bahl, whom has already been replaced on the blueline with Brenden Dillon and Johnathan Kovacevic on top of Nick DeSimone and Santeri Hatakka to lesser degrees. Does he represent an upgrade? Here is the above chart but with Markstrom’s 2023-24 stats included.
NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick
The 2023-24 season for Markstrom was not as good as some of his past ones. Even so, those numbers would have been the best on the 2023-24 Devils. He provided a lot closer to the league median goaltending that the team just did not have. Markstrom’s high danger save percentage last season was actually solid. His penalty kill save percentage was solid. His medium danger save percentage was a bit lower than you would have liked but far better than Daws and an upgrade over Allen. Overall, he just stopped a higher rate of pucks in all situations and 5-on-5 situations. It is a clear upgrade even though Markstrom was not as good as he was in 2021-22 two seasons ago. Between the cost to get him, his pedigree, and even last season’s performance being better than what New Jersey had in the crease, Markstrom should be penciled in as the #1 goalie in New Jersey. Jake Allen, signed for this one season, can be be penciled as the #2 goalie in New Jersey.
It is a veteran tandem with both goalies being 34 years old. Short of an injury occurring, this should be the tandem for the season. Provided Rogalski does not tinker too much with either of them from what has kept them in the NHL, it is a tandem you can trust to be more solid than last season’s group. The main risk for this tandem in this season is whether they will continue to perform at an acceptable level as they approach age 35 and whether they can stay healthy. Markstrom has ranged from 43 games to 63 games over the last seven seasons. Allen’s whole career has more seasons with fewer than 40 games played than not.
Two asides come to mind, by the way. Aside #1: What about preseason? What about Allen getting lit up against the Isles or Markstrom not posting 90% nights? It’s preseason. The performances in games that count last year matter much more than performances in games that do not count in this past week. I am not too concerned. Aside #2: What is a concern is what I already mentioned about the staff. It bears repeating. Rogalski is back and, no, I do not think it makes sense. You can point to his coaching as a risk for 2024-25 too given his track record with goalies not named Jordan Binnington or Ville Husso.
There is a longer term risk for the Devils. This is very much a short-term tandem. Allen is a UFA at the end of this season. Markstrom has one more season on his contract. Again, both are 34 and while some goalies age gracefully, it is unknown whether these two will do so as well. There are options in the system to bring in a younger goaltender. They also bring in their own questions. Is Nico Daws ready to emerge? Will Isaac Poulter continue to grow? Will we see some progress out of Tyler Brennan? Can Jakub Málek come back from Finland next season and hit the ice running? Unless someone emerges with an answer to any of those questions in this coming season, the Devils may need to get at least one other goalie in this coming Summer. That is an issue for after the 2024-25 season, though.
This brings me to the depth of the system for this coming season. Nico Daws and Isaac Poulter are expected to be the main goaltenders in Utica. Daws has had NHL experiences with overall disappointing results amid some really strong performances. If anything, he just needs a healthy season and stable location to grow. Poulter has earned his ELC last season, now it is on him to show he is still worthy of it. There will be a competition in Utica for minutes between them and perhaps who is the #3 goalie. Something the Devils need to aware of if/when Markstrom and/or Allen have issues.
Should the Devils want a veteran in Utica, Michael Hutchinson is in camp on a PTO. The 34 year old has been a #2/#3 goalie in his career and recent seasons saw him spent far more time in the AHL than the NHL. In fact, he played in just one (1) NHL game last season for Detroit and the Devils beat him. The remainder of his 2023-24 was spent in Grand Rapids, posting a not-so-hot 89.2% save percentage. His past seven seasons show he is willing to go to the AHL and he could clear waivers. Whether that is worth spending the remainder of the team’s salary cap for a contract is another question. But the option is at least present if the Devils want to go in that direction. It may not be needed since, again, Daws and Poulter are set to play for Utica. There are also three other players in camp on a PTO vying for a contract as well. I think Hutchinson would have to be a star in preseason games to get consideration.
Deeper in the system, there is Tyler Brennan and Jeremy Brodeur. Yes, Jeremy is Martin’s son. He is on an AHL contract and has primarily been in the ECHL. He was good for the Thunder last season, a bounce back season after spending 2022-23 in Manchester of the Elite Ice Hockey League in Great Britain. Brodeur played in 32 games for the Thunder. Brennan, the team’s fourth round pick in 2022, got in 13 games with Adirondack in his first pro season of hockey. With an 89.6% save percentage last season, he will need work on his game to perform better there before he gets any AHL time. Brennan is on an ELC and he just turned 21, so the organization feels he has a future and he still has time to grow.
Just to complete the goaltender picture for the Devils, there are prospect goalies that James will keep tabs on throughout the season. The most impressive is Jakub Málek. The Devils signed him to an ELC by the end of May 2024. It is a two-season contract given that he is 22. Málek rose up from VHK Vestin in Czechia’s second league to get a contract with Ilves of Liiga in Finland. He has done well as a #1B/#2 goalie in Ilves. His 91.5% save percentage in 27 league games certainly helped him earn that contract. The Devils loaned him back to Ilves for the season. The plan may be to bring him to Utica next season to see if his work in Europe will lead to a successful spell for the organization in North America. Beyond Málek, the Devils drafted two goalies in 2024: Mikhail Yegorov and Veeti Louhivaara. Both are long-term prospects. Yegorov was hammered on a really bad Omaha team in the USHL. He has returned to Omaha and will go to Boston University in 2025-26. The Devils will let him cook in college. Louhivaara remains in JYP’s system and the Devils will likely let him develop there until his rights come closer to ending.
Summary
All together, the depth chart on paper for the goaltenders is as follows:
New Jersey: Markstrom, Allen
Utica: Daws, Poulter
Adirondack: Brodeur (only up to AHL), Brennan
Prospects: Málek (signed, in Liiga this season), Yegorov (unsigned), Louhivaara (unsigned)
PTO: Hutchinson (move him to Utica if he is signed)
Coach: Rogalski
On paper, the Devils have improved at the goaltender position just by adding Markstrom alone. Even if he repeats what he did for Calgary last season, it would be an improvement over the combination of Vanecek, Schmid, and Daws last season. Allen was not as much of an upgrade in 2023-24 as it seemed at first, but he should be able to solidify the #2 spot.
Obviously, we would want both to play better than they did last season – which is not unreasonable as both have been better in recent seasons. The ask is not for either to be Vezina-caliber goalies. The ask is to be decent goaltenders. Because, again, league-median save percentages last season alone would have provided the wins that would have put last season’s team into the playoffs even with all of their other issues. I think they can be what the Devils need.
There are risks, though. One is whether Markstrom and Allen hold up. Should one or both get hurt, the Devils will be relying on their young depth. Daws has done well in spots but has struggled with extended call ups. Poulter is an unknown at the NHL level and just had his first good AHL season last season. Another risk Rogalski’s preparing of the goaltenders. If Markstrom and/or Allen suddenly perform way worse than they have been, then it is not only bad for the Devils but a further indictment that Rogalski is hurting the cause. A third risk is that even if this tandem works out well, Fitzgerald is going to have to go back to addressing the position. Allen is a pending UFA, Markstrom has one season left on his deal, and both goalies are 34 with a lot of games under their belts (429 for Allen, 485 for Markstrom, both in the top 15 in games played by active goalies). The position may be improved for this season but you should expect some change in the 2025 offseason.
To summarize this summary: Markstrom is here and the Devils’ goaltending should be improved from him alone. Markstrom-Allen is the tandem unless fate and performances say otherwise. Utica will be the place for an ongoing battle to be the #3 goalie. There are prospects in the pipeline. And the position is not quite settled beyond this one season. Again, the ask is for Markstrom-Allen to be league-median quality and they can be. That should be enough to make the Devils goaltending good enough to help them qualify for the playoffs.
Your Take
Now that you know what I think of the goaltenders ahead of the 2024-25 season, I want to know what you think. Do you think Markstrom-Allen will be a significant enough upgrade over Vanecek-Schmid, last season’s starting tandem? How well do you think Markstrom and Allen will do? Who is the #3 goaltender on the Devils in your opinion? What will you be looking for from the goalies in 2024-25 beyond “making a dang tough save?” Please leave your answers and other thoughts about the Devils goaltenders ahead of this upcoming season in the comments. Thank you for reading.