Devils Could Nab Goaltending Depth on NHL Waivers

NEWARK—It was just a few short weeks ago when the New Jersey Devils were nearly in a goaltending crisis as a result of injuries. Both Jake Allen and Nico Daws were unavailable due to their own respective injuries, and the Devils were forced to ride Jacob Markstrom for four consecutive starts in one of the busiest portions of their schedule. Isaac Poulter was his backup in a worst case scenario situation and seemingly hasn’t earned the trust to make his NHL debut. The Devils can avoid this situation again by claiming a goaltender with experience on NHL waivers as of this afternoon.

READ MORE: Devils GM Could Be Forced Into Tough Decision

The Montreal Canadiens placed goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers Saturday afternoon with the purpose of reassigning the 25-year-old to the American Hockey League.

Primeau is a former seventh round draft pick in 2017 that continually overcame the odds and worked his way through the ranks at the NHL level.

With 61 games of NHL experience under his belt, Primeau might be coveted on the NHL waiver wire. However, putting a claim in for the Habs goaltender makes some sense if the Devils win the priority.

Primeau impressed last season in a small sample. In 23 games with the Canadiens, he accrued an 8-9-4 record on a rebuilding Montreal roster. However, it was his 2.99 GAA and .910 SV% that stuck out, paired with his 3.6 goals saved above expected.

It was enough to convince the Canadiens brass that Primeau was good enough to be Sam Montembeault’s backup, which ultimately saw Jake Allen shipped to New Jersey.

The irony.

This season, however, hasn’t gone Primeau’s way. In 11 starts, Primeau has a dreadful 4.70 GAA and .836 SV%. They’re not ideal numbers, however, if you ask Marc Dumont of Montreal Hockey Now, Primeau has been a prime example of how an NHL team shouldn’t develop a young goaltender.

The Devils claiming Primeau would be nothing more than addressing a need at depth for the position for this season. Poulter has been okay behind a subpar Utica Comets defense. He hasn’t been much worse than Comets No.1, Nico Daws. However, perhaps it makes sense to have Primeau work in tandem with Daws at the AHL level to regain his confidence from last season.

After all, Primeau has established himself well at the AHL level, with a career 2.74 GAA and .909 SV% in 123 games with the Laval Rocket.

Three goaltenders at the AHL level might not be ideal, therefore Poulter might need to work the rest of this season in the ECHL.

However, bringing Primeau in makes sense for the future of the Devils’ crease.

The idea is that Daws will be Jacob Markstrom‘s backup in the 2025-26 season. That means there’s a chance the Devils are letting Jake Allen walk in free agency.

Then, the Comets’ goaltending future is up in the air.

Perhaps Poulter takes the reins. Maybe Tyler Brennan works his way up the ladder into AHL minutes.

Yet, it makes the most sense for the Devils to nab Primeau for free on waivers, absorb what’s left of his expiring contract worth $770K, and have him work in tandem with Poulter next season for the Comets. All while providing the Devils with enough depth—if necessary—to have a goaltender with NHL experience, barring a situation where they need to reach down to their fourth string netminder.

It almost happened before, and it could happen again.

Primeau certainly makes for an intriguing potential add on NHL waivers. Not to mention, he grew up in Voorhees, New Jersey while his father, Keith, played for the Philadelphia Flyers.

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