Devils Bullets: Haula Trade & Goalie Search
News and notes on the New Jersey Devils trading Erik Haula and Frank Seravalli's report of them poking around the goalie market.
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The New Jersey Devils didn't waste any time getting their offseason started after the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Florida Panthers. Less than 24 hours after the Panthers claimed their second consecutive Stanley Cup, the Devils traded Erik Haula to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick and prospect Jeremy Hanzel.
Not only that, but Frank Seravalli reported on SN 590 earlier in the day that the Devils were poking around the goalie market. We may only be a day removed from the Stanley Cup Final, but it appears it'll be a busy offseason in the Garden State.
It Was Time for Haula
The writing appeared to be on the wall for Erik Haula this season. Even though he had a decent close to his 2024-25 campaign, it was largely a disappointment that, at one point, saw him go 28 straight games without recording a single point.
Clearing cap space is objective No. 1 for the Devils before retooling their roster, and removing Haula from their cap sheet frees up $3.1 million in cap space, giving the team nearly $14.4 million in total cap space.
There was a chance that Haula could bounce back next season, but it wasn't a risk worth taking. His play dropped off significantly this season, and it was time for a change.
Could Haula have been fine in a fourth-line role next season? Maybe, but there will be potential upgrades in free agency who could cost less on the books, even though it's a shallow year for UFAs.
I'm also not surprised the Devils got assets back for Haula. I'm not sure what the Predators' plan is, but a middle-round draft pick and a prospect is some tidy business, considering this was a cap dump. Hanzel probably isn't more than an AHLer, but a good Utica Comets squad would help in 2025-26.
It's worth noting that Haula had a full no-trade clause until July 1, so he had to approve this deal, and it appears the Devils sent him to a place that he's comfortable with since he played there during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
At the end of the day, it's a move general manager Tom Fitzgerald had to make. It's only one piece of the puzzle, as he needs to clear more cap space to make the necessary improvements to the Devils' roster. I'd expect Ondřej Palát to be next on the docket, and the cap dumps may not end there.
Devils Scouring the Goalie Market
I was a bit surprised by the reaction to my quote tweet of Seravalli's report that the Devils are poking around the goalie market. It may seem like they don't need a goalie because of Nico Daws, but I'd argue otherwise.
While Daws showed well in his brief NHL time last season, I wouldn't get overly excited over a small six-game sample. Though the Comets struggled as a team, he still finished with an .893 save percentage in the AHL and had an .890 SV% in 2023-24. That doesn't scream NHL goalie to me.
Plus, what if Jacob Markström gets injured and misses time? It just happened this season, but the Devils had Jake Allen to bail them out. Chances are that Allen won't be back next season for financial reasons, so what do you do if Markström misses time with an injury?
I wouldn't blame the Devils and Fitzgerald for not feeling comfortable with a Markström and Daws tandem because if Markström goes down, you're left with Daws and...Jakub Málek? Málek is a promising prospect, but it'd be a lot to throw on his and Daws' plates as an NHL tandem.
How many times has a Devils season imploded because of goaltending over the last decade? It may not be a top priority, but I understand why they may be scouring the goalie market. The problem is that this year's UFA class for goalies is, well...not great.
The one name that sticks out to me is Dan Vladař. He was Markström's backup for three seasons in Calgary, and the two are apparently close. Vladař's counting totals may not stick out, but he'd likely be fine as a cheap backup.
Though Vladař finished with an .898 SV% this season, he saved 0.9 goals above expected, so he essentially stopped what he was supposed to. Evolving Hockey has him projected for a one-year deal at a cap hit of $1.605 million, so the Devils can probably make that work and still improve the roster up front.
Another name that could interest the Devils is Anton Forsberg. He had a solid rebound season after struggling with injuries in 2023-24, finishing with a .901 SV% across 30 games. Most of his underlying metrics were solid, too, as he saved 2.2 goals above expected and totaled a .915 SV% at five-on-five.
Evolving Hockey has Forsberg signing a one-year deal at a cap hit of $1.414 million. I'll admit I'm just assuming this because they're Swedish, but I imagine it wouldn't take much for Markström and Forsberg to find chemistry as a tandem.
Otherwise, there's not much out there in free agency. I could see Alex Lyon being an option since his numbers are similar to Forsberg and Vladař, and he could cost even less on the cap, but Vladař and Forsberg are probably the better targets.
Sheldon Keefe coached Ilya Samsonov for a couple of seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but I'd be surprised if that's something he wants to revisit.
Perhaps there are some second-tier goalies available on the trade market we don't know about (Stuart Skinner?), so we'll see how this unfolds. But I am not surprised the Devils are poking around the goalie market.
It'd be wise to go into next season with some insurance, whether it's Vladař, Forsberg or some mystery candidate we don't know about because we've seen how poor goaltending and a lack of depth can undo a season before it can even get off the ground.
Advanced stats from MoneyPuck
Sorta wanted Haula to stay. If his performance dip and recovery was due to an injury than just hope for better health next year. Injuries aren’t an excuse but can be a reason. With that said, hope they use the added cap space wisely to fill out the bottom 6