There has been some talk about the New Jersey Devils trying to trade for Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman. If you think that is the case, think again. Swayman is a restricted free agent and he continues to sit out. He’s looking to be paid as one of the top-tier goaltenders in the NHL.
This is similar to the offseason heading into the 2023-24 season when the Devils needed to address their goaltending position. At the time, New Jersey and Tom Fitzgerald were linked to Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
Hellebuyck was entering the final year of his deal with a salary cap hit of $6.166 million. He was looking for an extension. A big reason the Devils did not trade for him and sign him to an extension was that they did not know what the price would be to keep him long-term. Before the season started, Hellebuyck signed an eight-year extension that kicks in this season at $8.5 million AAV.
No Denying Seamus Casey Earned a Trip to Prague with the Devils
Was it something Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald wanted to do? It didn’t sound like he wanted to go that big. He did not want to overspend on a goaltender that would leave his team handcuffed to fill other areas, even with the salary cap space New Jersey had last off-season.
After the 2023-24 season, during the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the Devils finally got their goaltender in Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom was the guy and difference-maker the Devils needed all along. They also got him at a discounted rate, with the Calgary Flames retaining 31.25 percent of Markstrom’s $6 million salary in the deal. Markstrom has two years left on his current contract, and the Devils are only paying $4.125 million over that period.
With that salary cap hit, the Devils added Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, Tomas Tatar, and Stefan Noesen and re-signed Dawson Mercer. Markstrom, at $4.125 million, gave the Devils more cap flexibility than Jeremy Swayman, at $8 or $8.5 million.
As you look around the league, goalies generally are underappreciated and undervalued. However, if the Devils weren’t willing to pay Connor Hellebuyck, they sure would not have done it for Jeremy Swayman. The Devils could have traded for Swayman, but nobody thought it would get to this point. Let’s be honest: those around the NHL thought this deal would be done, but the Devils had no chance.
Plus, if the Devils were going to trade for Swayman, that move had to have been done already, but again, not knowing what he wanted put the Devils in a tricky situation. Thus they went with the sure thing. Plus, what would Jeremy Swayman have cost the Devils? Indeed, it’s not a top 10 protected 2025 first round and Kevin Bahl.
It would have been to a similar package that the Nashville Predators asked for if teams would trade for Juuse Saros before he signed his extension. Probably a first-round pick, maybe Mercer, Seamus Casey, potentially Simon Nemec, and another roster player to balance out the money. And say the New Jersey Devils did trade for Swayman, and he gets the $8-$8.5 million; all the adds the Devils made in the offseason were not going to happen.
Trading for Jeremy Swayman is a pipe dream, similar to the reports and rumors that the Devils were trading for Yaroslav Askarov. The Devils weren’t trading for Askarov because of the goalies in the system. Jake Allen is Markstrom’s backup. He is also on a discount, with the Montreal Canadiens picking up half his salary.
Jeremy Brodeur Dawns Devils Sweater Just Like His Father Did
Tom Fitzgerald and the New Jersey Devils maximized their cap space by getting proven goalies instead of betting and paying for the unknown. It has been and was always about Jacob Markstrom. The Devils were not paying for a top-end goaltender. They might have to later on, but it is about putting together a winning formula with proven assets.
