5 goalies for the New Jersey Devils to consider trading for

The New Jersey Devils aren’t off to the best start that they’ve ever had but there is still time to get back on track. One of their biggest problems this season has been goaltending and defense. We know that they are going to score a lot but they need to defend better.

One way to do that would be to make an upgrade between the pipes. Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid are both fine but they haven’t been good enough this season. If New Jersey wants to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup over the next few years, they have to address this problem.

Gone are the days of Martin Brodeur but there are some options out there in terms of goalies who can provide a little bit of an upgrade for them. It isn’t going to happen overnight but they should be considering all possibilities.

A few goalies may be available throughout the season and all of them should be considered by the Devils. These are the five that they should be thinking about the most in terms of trade:

The New Jersey Devils would love to have a goalie like Jusse Saros in the mix

For the last handful of years, Juuse Saros has been one of the best goalies in the entire NHL. He has come a long way since taking over a full-time role for the Nashville Predators. Since Pekka Rinne left and allowed Saros to take over the net, it has been nothing but good things for him.

The Nashville Predators have always been built on the back of goaltending and defense and Saros is a big part of it in the modern day. In each of the last three seasons before this one, Saras was a top-six finisher for the Vezina Trophy.

Right now, however, Saros has been pretty bad. He has a 3.23 goals-against average which isn’t the worst number in the world but it is well above his career average of 2.60. Saros has never finished a season above 3 as long as he played in more than one game.

If Nashville decides to move off him this year as things fall off the rails, the New Jersey Devils should come calling. With a team like that in front of him, Saros would thrive. He’d be the new franchise goaltender right away.

John Gibson would be a great New Jersey Devils goaltender this season

For a very long time, John Gibson was one of the best goalies in the NHL. Early in his career with the Anaheim Ducks, he was incredible. From 2013-2019, he had a .921 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average.

He even earned a nod with Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey. For a handful of years after that, however, he struggled. Anaheim was bad which played into his shortcomings but there is no doubt he could have been better too.

From the 2019-20 season to the 2022-23 season, he wasn’t as strong and the Ducks were one of the worst teams in the league. He had a .902 save percentage and a 3.32 goals-against average during that stretch.

So far in 2023-24, Gibson has been playing some very good hockey with these Ducks. He is currently sitting with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. That is the Gibson we became used to seeing before 2020 came around.

He has managed to avoid being traded during their rebuild. He may or may not see it through but the Ducks are still just shy of being good enough to compete for the playoffs.

It might be wise for them to move Gibson now for parts that can help them in other areas. He is a great option to consider for the New Jersey Devils.

Petr Mrazek is someone that the New Jersey Devils can consider trading for

Petr Mrazek and John Gibson have a lot in common. Mrazek wasn’t as good as Gibson at each of their peak but they were both so good early on, had a downfall, and are now having great years again in 2023-24.

Both of them are also on teams that are going to be shy of the postseason. In the case of Mrazek, however, he could also be a good trade bait type of piece for the Chicago Blackhawks at the deadline this year.

So far this season, Mrazek is 4-4-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. That is much better than any numbers that the New Jersey Devils goalies have put up and he has a significantly worse team playing in front of him.

If he became available and was still at the top of his game, the New Jersey Devils should consider a trade like this. It wouldn’t cost them much in terms of a trade so it is absolutely something to consider.

Mrazek has been a part of some good teams in his career and he might be able to (in the short term) help New Jersey stabilize their goaltending.

The New Jersey Devils should see if Marc-Andre Fleury is available to trade for

The New Jersey Devils have had some intense battles with Marc-Andre Fleury over the years. When he was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there were a lot of times that he went up against the Devils and it was always fun.

Since then, Fleury’s Hall of Fame career has made stops with the Vegas Golden Knights and Chicago Blackhawks before getting to his current spot with the Minnesota Wild. They have struggled so far up there in Minnesota so it is fair to wonder if Fleury will become available.

Fleury’s numbers aren’t great right now but the Wild haven’t been all that great in front of him. He has a .879 save percentage and a 3.41 goals-against average. It will be interesting to see if he can pick these up before the end of the year.

At 38 years old (he turns 39 next week), it is smart to also wonder if this underperformance is because of age catching up with him. If the Wild (5-8-2) continue to lose, we just might get to see if Fleury improves playing on a better team.

If the Devils acquired him, they wouldn’t just be getting someone that they want to see play the position better. They’d also be getting someone with incredible playoff experience.

He has been to the Stanley Cup Final five times and won three of them. He has also made many deep playoff runs. That would help New Jersey’s locker room in every way.