New Jersey Devils trade deadline blog

This will be updated throughout the day as Tom Fitzgerald makes moves.

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The trade deadline has arrived and the New Jersey Devils figure to be active.

I’m going to use this post throughout the day to share thoughts on any and all moves GM Tom Fitzgerald pulls off.

Devils send conditional 3rd to Canadiens for Jake Allen

The Devils very clearly needed a veteran in goal to help stabilize the crease. It took a long time for them to land one – far too long – but they have finally addressed the situation with Allen.

Important to note, Allen is signed for next season and the Canadiens retained 50% of his salary. He will cost the Devils $1.925 million, which is a very reasonable number for a backup.

I fully expect the Devils to go out and get a legitimate starter, or clear 1A, in the summer. Fitzgerald is not going to play around with hopes and prayers any longer.

Allen owns an .892 save percentage this season playing behind a horrendous Canadiens defense.

The numbers under the hood suggest he’s been much better than it appears on the surface. He owns a .916 save percentage at 5v5, which is good for 31st among the 68 most used goaltenders in the NHL.

He ranks ahead of Stuart Skinner, John Gibson, Jake Oettinger, Elvis Merzlikins, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Kaapo Kahkonen, to name but a few.

Allen grades out very similarly in terms of high-danger save percentage, slotting 32/68 at 5v5. He is plenty serviceable.

His total numbers have been heavily weighed down because the Canadiens take a ton of penalties and can’t kill them off whatsoever. A lot of PK goals against = a healthy decrease in SV%.

Allen has drastically outperformed all of the Devils’ goaltenders at 5v5 despite playing behind a much worse defense.

I think he is a nice addition and should help the Devils down the stretch as they try and sneak into the playoffs (as well as next season).

Devils send Tyler Toffoli to Jets for 2025 2nd, 2024 3rd