Now that there’s a log jam at the goaltending position at the varsity level for the New Jersey Devils, it seems like there is a decision to be made with Nico Daws.
RELATED: What Should the Devils Do With Nico Daws?
Jake Allen’s long-term extension and Jacob Markstrom’s desire to remain with the Devils, coupled with the promising pipeline of goalies featuring Mikhail Yegorov and Jakub Malek, potentially make Daws the odd-man out in New Jersey.
Add the fact that he’s waiver exempt this season, and can’t be simply passed through from New Jersey to the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League for free, he’s a likely candidate to be claimed.
Perhaps the Devils could go with a three-goalie rotation. However, there’s plenty of evidence to prove that hasn’t worked in the past, and it’s unlikely any of Markstrom, Allen, or Daws finds that to be an ideal situation.
So, the Devils might have to pivot here.
It seems like their only option to not lose Daws for free is to trade him. Perhaps, an inquiring team is willing to give up a mid-round pick for a goaltender who is on the cusp of being NHL-ready, if he’s not already. Or, he can be the dangled carrot as an added bonus in a potentially bigger trade. Perhaps one that includes moving out Dougie Hamilton or Dawson Mercer, if it, in fact, comes to that.
One thing is for sure. The Devils still have to get Luke Hughes under contract. If he signs long-term, you can expect the Devils to need to clear out money. A long-term Hughes extension will at least begin in the $8 million range, and New Jersey has a touch under $7 million available in cap space.
So, however, Daws is moved, one way or another, there are three destinations that make sense for him to land.
Edmonton Oilers
If it wasn’t immediately obvious, the Edmonton Oilers are an organization that needs goaltending.
Edmonton is going into next season with a tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. The 2025 Stanley Cup runner-ups have no exciting prospect coming through the pipeline, and their two current netminders are on expiring contracts.
The thing about Skinner is, there are nights where the Oilers are genuinely unsure of which goalie they’re going to get. Will they get the one that was named an All-Star and to the All-Rookie team in 2022-23? Or the one who finished with an .896 SV% last season?
As for Pickard, he’s a nice story, having buoyed the Oilers in their time of need. Yet, as a career backup and heading into his age-33 season, there’s no reason why Daws can’t compete for his job, win it, and perhaps give the Oilers some sort of future in goal.
Daws in Edmonton makes a lot of sense.
Vegas Golden Knights
You know where else Daws makes a lot of sense? Las Vegas.
The Vegas Golden Knights are going into 2025-26 with a goaltending tandem of Adin Hill and Akira Schmid.
Yep, the former Devils goaltender is projected to be Hill’s backup next season. The thing with Schmid is, ever since his run in the 2023 postseason against the New York Rangers in which he helped eliminate the Devils’ rival, he hasn’t quite been able to regain that form, even after he was traded and in the minors.
Is Daws a more favorable option than Schmid as Hill’s backup in the eyes of the Golden Knights?
The consensus is that Schmid is perhaps a goaltender the Golden Knights could sneak through waivers and send back to Henderson, as opposed to Daws who, as stated earlier, is a popular claim candidate.
Similarly to Edmonton, the Golden Knights have no future in goal outside of Hill. Daws would provide them a stable presence as a 1B/backup.
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are SET in goal for a long time. Dustin Wolf was my personal pick to win the Calder Trophy as the NHLs top rookie in 2024-25. He lost to Lane Hutson, but Wolf was THAT good.
Yet, Wolf is a loner in the Flames organization.
Calgary will deploy Devin Cooley behind Wolf next season, working on an expiring contract.
Cooley has extremely limited NHL experience. He played six games in the NHL during the 2023-24 season for the San Jose Sharks.
Daws, however, has 52 games of experience under his belt, has seen spurts of success, and is on the cusp of breaking through full-time.
A tandem of Wolf/Daws could work long-term for the Flames, even if they decide to sell off some core pieces and rebuild.
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