Tom Fitzgerald Looks To Improve New Jersey Devils Goaltending

Ever since Tom Fitzgerald took over as New Jersey Devils general manager, one area he has been constantly trying to fix has been goaltending. And Fitzgerald thought he had solved that problem this past off-season with the signing of Jonathan Bernier. Bernier was supposed to help give Mackenzie Blackwood the necessary rest during an 82-game regular season. However, that did not happen as Blackwood dealt with a heel injury to begin the season along with not getting vaccinated forcing Bernier to play more.

But now the Devils are now without both goalies as Bernier was lost to season-ending hip surgery, while the Devils have no idea when Blackwood is returning from a heel injury. Thus forcing Nico Daws and Jon Gillies to play more. Over the last seven games, it has been Daws’s net and the team is allowing him to play through his mistakes at the NHL level. And during the last four games, Daws has a .924 save percentage. And while Daws is on the path to being the starter of the future, Tom Fitzgerald knows, he must do something to improve the New Jersey Devils goaltending and he will be looking at all options.

“As far as goaltending, we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board again this summer,” Fitzgerald said to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

The Devils believed they had their goaltending woes solved at least for the time being when they signed Corey Crawford. However, after his abrupt retirement from the NHL, this left the Devils in a bind. Mackenzie Blackwood could only carry the load for the Devils for so long and eventually, his body was going to give out. Which it has. The organization wanted to bring in a backup goalie to push Blackwood as it appeared that he was on a trajectory to be the number one goalie. But that has changed due to his injury along with other factors. Not to mention the play of Daws.

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And if Daws is the goalie of the future for the Devils, Fitzgerald knows he should not have been up with the team in the first place. That is why he wants to look in another direction in terms of goaltending for the New Jersey Devils. Fitzgerald needs to bring in someone who has been a starter before and/or can handle the load. And not just a temporary fix. They need to find a goalie similar to what they got when they traded for Cory Schneider all those years ago.

But with the goaltending market thin this trade deadline, this may be more of an off-season move, but if the New Jersey Devils were to trade for a goalie, here are some of the candidates the team can go after.

Joonas Korpisalo

If the Devils are looking for a long-term fix to their goaltending, they should look at acquiring Joonas Korpisalo at the deadline. And if they can’t get it done now, then in the off-season. Korpisalo is 27 and while he is having an off-year for the Columbus Blue Jackets, this is the type of veteran the Devils need to be looking at. He has a 3.01 career goals-against average to go along with a .903 save percentage. This is with Columbus he has a 3.95 goals-against average and a .885 save percentage. These numbers are not the greatest. However, Korpisalo is more of a number one than a backup and with the emergence of Elvis Merzlikins, he is definitely available. The key will be the cost. Not to mention with Korpisalo being a UFA at the end of the season, the Devils might be able to sign him instead of giving up an asset.

Jonathan Quick 

While Jonathan Quick is on the back end of his career, having him come in to be the backup is not a bad idea. Especially if Quick is going to push Blackwood to be better. Just look at what Quick is doing this season with Cal Pettersen. Quick has turned back the clocks and has put the Kings in a position to make the playoffs. Quick this season in 33 appearances has a 2.72 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. This is the type of goaltending the Devils could use. He is a veteran presence that has won and can go in to be the starter when the team calls on him. Say Blackwood would struggle, he could run with the position as the number one. Quick has two years remaining on his contract, this year and next at a cap hit of $5.80 million. That is not bad. With the Kings in a position for the playoffs, they probably won’t move him now, but who says they don’t go in another direction in the off-season.

Ville Husso 

Another name that was being floated around is Ville Husso of the St. Louis Blues. The issue with Husso is he is a UFA at the end of the season. And with Tom Fitzgerald wanting to have controllable assets on the team, he might take a swing at him at free agency. This season Husso is putting together a career year for the Blues. In 24 games, Husso has a 2.24 goals-against average and .928 save percentage. He is definitely looking to be getting a pay raise this off-season from the $750,000 he is making right now. The Blues do have Charlie Lindgren to back up, so if the Blues wanted to get an asset for him they could. Again he is right around that age that Fitzgerald likes, so Husso has to be considered an option.

Braden Holtby 

A name that is being brought up is Braden Holtby of the Dallas Stars. The Stars have three goalies on their roster, and the Devils could have taken a flyer on Anton Khudobin earlier in the season when he was on waivers. Khudobin has always been a good fit for the Devils at the right price. Holtby is having a nice bounce-back season with the Stars. In 24 appearances, Holtby has a 2.78 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. These are solid numbers. And while his name is out there, the Stars are in the mix for a playoff spot, so this feels like more of an off-season move with Holtby being a UFA. In addition, this is a stop-gap move for the Devils, if they believe Blackwood is their guy going forward. But again the Devils have not determined that yet.

Again these are just some names that are out there. Another option could be Alexandar Georgiev of the New York Rangers. He clearly needs a change of scenery and is not handling the backup’s role that well. He is more suited to be a starting goalie because when Igor Shesterkin was out of the lineup, he took the job and ran with it. Do the Rangers considering making a trade with their Hudson River Rivals?

One thing is for sure, Tom Fitzgerald wants to improve the goaltending for the New Jersey Devils for the future. Because the last thing Fitzgerald wants to do is continuously having to play rotating goalies every season. That is not a way to play meaningful games.