The New Jersey Devils may have gotten a great goaltending performance last night, but it doesn’t mean the overall issues are gone. Jake Allen might be rocking a decent enough .912 through his 18 appearances
but the Devils overall sit in the middle of the NHL pack (tied for 16th overall) with a team save percentage of .894. Why? Well, it’s partly because of Nico Daws’ one appearances where he rocked a .968, but if we’re looking at why it is below .900, well, that’s because we’re bringing up Jacob Markstrom again.
Since his return from injury last season, I would say the only stretch where Markstrom’s play could be described overall as “good” or better was the 2025 playoffs. He was rusty (or maybe this was the sign of the beginning of the decline) when he returned towards the end of the 2024-25 regular season, and the strong playoff performance has not even remotely carried over. In his 17 contests, Markstrom has only had a save percentage above .900 twice; he’s also only allowed fewer than three goals in three of his 16 starts. I think we’ve already come to the conclusion that he’s actively costing the Devils games that he starts, but if you weren’t sure of that, just look at Chris’ review of the Vancouver game where he points out (with pictures) how bad Markstrom’s positioning is.
So with Markstrom being so bad, Allen being good and all of the injuries the Devils currently have, why not bring Daws up and keep three goalies? Roster space isn’t an issue at this juncture with three players on IR, two on LTIR and Timo Meier currently away for a personal matter. Maybe Daws isn’t the answer; maybe he’s not even an upgrade. At this point though, he couldn’t be any worse than Markstrom is; regardless of how you feel about him as a prospect (former prospect?) or player, objectively speaking his career numbers in limited games are better than what Markstrom is producing right now. Sure, maybe Markstrom’s career numbers are better, but he seems to be in obvious decline right now, and I would rather bank on the 24 year old improving than the soon to be 36 year old returning to previous form.
Personally, I think it’s worth calling Daws up anyway; he’s not the solution for a struggling Utica team, but he could at least be worth playing in back to backs to give Allen a rest. Allen meanwhile should be the starter until further notice. While he has had some bad performances this season, he’s looked better overall than both himself from last season and Markstrom this season. Jake has earned that much, and hopefully the team realized that as well, which resulted in him starting last night. If he starts again tomorrow, it may be a better indicator of how the Devils feel about their goalies.
The bigger issue that comes from all of this, and could be why the Devils choose not to go with three goalies, is Tom Fitzgerald. Why Fitz? Simply because calling up a third goalie, and effectively Press Box-ing Markstrom would reflect really poorly on the GM who just signed Markstrom to a two year extension which will see him count against the cap for more than double Allen and Daws combined. The Devils cap situation and trade clauses were already being criticized by fans and pundits for limiting what the team’s management could do to strengthen the club. Calling Daws up will only result in more scrutiny of a deal that was already being seen as unnecessary at the time and is looking as though it is going to age worse than milk. Said increased scrutiny could also have ownership start to question if they have the right GM to bring a fourth cup to New Jersey. I’m sure Fitz will do anything to keep the heat off himself right now, so calling up a goalie probably isn’t in the cards.
The Devils getting healthy will play a role in the team improving. Brett Pesce returning to the lineup last night was a good start to that. I still think if Fitz really wants to increase his job security, he should call up a third goalie. A little extra competition to get games never hurts, especially if maybe it motivates your $6 million goalie to remember how to position himself and not give up juicy rebounds all the time. Plus, again, it’s not like Daws could be any worse. New Jersey is still very much in the thick of things even with all the players they’re missing; adding a better backup can only improve the hopes that they have for this season.
What are your thoughts on the Devils potentially calling up Nico Daws and carrying three goalies; are you in favor? Do you think it’s better to just play Allen as often as possible and only bring Markstrom in when seemingly necessary? Is there another option you would like to see the team pursue? Leave any and all comments down below and thanks as always for reading!
