The New Jersey Devils did not have the season they were hoping for in the 2023-24 campaign, and they are going to be looking to make some big moves this offseason in an effort to back into the playoff hunt next season. The biggest need the team has right now appears to be in the net, and it sounds like general manager Tom Fitzgerald could get aggressive over the next few months in an attempt to properly fill the position.
The Devils had five different goalies in between the pipes for them last season, and none of them were particularly effective. Beyond that, the only one who is still under contract with the team is Jake Allen, but he's not really a consistent number one goalie at this stage of his career. As a result, Fitzgerald hinted that the Devils number ten overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft could be up for grabs, especially if it helps them in their quest to solve their goalie conundrum.
“If we feel it helps us now and in the foreseeable future, then, yes, I'm listening. I haven't gotten anything yet but the more I talk to teams, I say ‘Listen, I'm open to moving No. 10, but it's going to have to be something (significant)…I'm in the goalie market talking to teams, but there's a ‘but' and the ‘but' is how do we want to build our team? We'd like to add up front, we'd like to add on the back end, so what are those pieces going to cost us. With the goaltending, what's that going to cost us?” – Tom Fitzgerald, NHL.com
Devils open for business ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft
The Devils are in an interesting position ahead of the upcoming draft because they have a lot of talented players on their roster. The problem is that their weaknesses proved to be too much to overcome in the previous campaign, but it's not like they are staring down the barrel of a full-fledged rebuild. So moving off of the tenth overall pick to immediately address one of their weaknesses makes sense.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that they will trade that pick straight up for a goalie, but it could be used in another move that allows them to more aggressively pursue different options when it comes to their netminder. If they can manage to use the tenth pick to acquire a top attacker, which is another need for this team, they will have more freedom when it comes to their goalie pursuit.
It's a bit of a difficult situation for Fitzgerald, but it's also one that comes with a lot of opportunity. If he can nail the moves he makes over the next few months, the Devils will be in a prime position to find their way back to the postseason. And it sounds like it all starts with the tenth overall pick, which could be the key to unlocking New Jersey's ideal offseason.
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