Markstrom, Allen give Devils one of NHL's best goaltending tandems

Based off last season's Goals Saved Above Expected metrics, they look the part of a top-five duo.

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New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has completely revamped the team’s goaltending depth chart over the past handful of months – and done a great job in doing so.

He got the ball rolling with the addition of Jake Allen at the trade deadline. Allen played 13 games for the Devils down the stretch and stole a few along the way playing for a team that was banged up, struggling, and, quite frankly, ready to call it a season.

Fitzgerald followed that up by adding arguably the best goaltender to change hands this off-season. He acquired Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames without giving up this year’s 1st round pick or any meaningful prospects.

Markstrom has been a consistent, high quality starter since 2017 while Jake Allen – save for a down year in 2022-23 – has fared very well as a platoon guy for a long time.

The combined talent and experience of Markstrom and Allen appears to have given the Devils a high-tier tandem few teams can match. The numbers certainly back that up.

Looking at last season’s Goals Saved Above Expected metrics, Markstrom and Allen combined to stop upwards of 32 goals more than they should have.

That is the 4th best mark of any tandem and makes the Devils one of just seven teams with a duo that stopped more than 30 GSAx last year.