Long-time backup Jake Allen has seen this movie already. Now entering his fourth season in New Jersey, the soon-to-be 36-year-old netminder will likely be getting his second experience with a three-goalie tandem in his career. The question is whether the Devils’ three-goalie tandem can help them end their inconsistent run of play.
David Rittich joined the team as a key depth addition this off-season. As a result, he’s expected to work in tandem with Allen and youngster Nico Daws. Depth has been a major part of New Jersey’s offseason. However, they failed to land a key addition that could potentially change their fortunes.
New GM Sunny Mehta took a sizable swing on restricted free agent Barrett Hayton. Utah chose to match New Jersey’s offer sheet for the former fifth overall pick. When that failed, the Devils fell back on signing the talented and resilient Anthony Mantha. While that’s a potentially excellent signing, it still misses one of New Jersey’s key issues.
The Role of the Devils’ Three Goalie Tandem
Short of acquiring a player like Shane Wright, the Devils might be done adding up front until the start of training camp. That puts even more pressure on the Devils’ three-goalie tandem, which Allen discussed recently on the “Daily Faceoff Live” podcast.
The New Jersey Devils need insurance, specifically Jack Hughes insurance. They might have found it, at least in part, in the acquisition of center Evan Rodrigues in a trade with the Florida Panthers. He’s a capable two-way player who graded out favorably defensively, according to HockeyStatCards. He can also chip in offense in the bottom six. Unquestionably, Rodrigues knows how to play that role. As a result, he earned significant playing time as a bottom-six forward for three different playoff teams in five consecutive years. Still, there are other questions.
Rodrigues is capable, but certainly not an elite depth producer. The Devils really need to be prepared for the inevitability of a Jack Hughes injury. Hughes missed 20, 20 and 21 games in each of the past three seasons. The Devils are 24-35-2 in those games, which would put them high in lottery odds in any of the past three seasons.
That’s what made the Hayton offer sheet so intriguing, since Hayton had the talent and pedigree to potentially step in as a short-term replacement in case of a Hughes injury. Plan B will have to feature more of a committee approach between Rodrigues, Nick Bjugstad and Cody Glass.
More importantly, it places an even greater emphasis on the other area New Jersey struggled in last season: the net.
Allen’s First Experience with Three NHL Goalies Wasn’t Great
Allen noted as much in his interview with “Daily Faceoff Live.” He didn’t particularly enjoy that first go with Montreal.
“I actually had a first hand experience in my last year in Montreal. We had me and Montembeault, and they kept Cayden Primeau around. We thought Cayden was going to be going down, and they just kept us around. So personally I didn’t really like it, just because you feel on the outs.”
He emphasized the importance of having clear lines of communication and understanding. Sheldon Keefe needs to play a major role in that. Similarly, new goalie coach Dan Stewart and new Director of Goaltending Leo Luongo must take this seriously.
Allen noted that it’s becoming clear around the league that teams now need three good goalies.
“So it’s a thing you’re definitely going to see way more in the future. And honestly, I know people talk about it taking up a roster spot. But I think at the end of the day, it might actually benefit you to get more points at the end of the year.”
The Devils’ three-goalie tandem can look to better examples than Allen’s last year in Montreal.
Can Jake Allen, David Rittich and Nico Daws Replicate Buffalo’s Success?
It seems that New Jersey will borrow a page out of the book of its most recent head coach before Sheldon Keefe. Lindy Ruff deployed the three-goalie tandem better than anybody last season, with 34 starts each for Alex Lyon and Ukko-Pekka Luukonen and 14 starts for Colten Ellis. There was a remarkable consistency among the three, who combined for a .906 save percentage. No player deviated more than .003 points from the average.
New Jersey’s making a decent bet here. Historically, head coach Sheldon Keefe has done a nice job getting his teams to buy into his defensive structure. Thus, Keefe’s teams usually tend to limit high-danger chances. These are his teams’ rankings, per Natural Stat Trick, in each of his full seasons as a head coach.
- NJD 2025-26: 16th
- NJD 2024-25: 10th
- TOR 2023-24: 20th
- TOR 2022-23: 14th
- TOR 2021-22: 9th
- TOR 2020-21: 9th
In some respects, trusting the Devils’ three-goalie tandem is the only bet that made sense. The Devils failed to add Connor Hellebuyck. Simultaneously, Mehta likely didn’t want to spend big money on the open market. Allen has not played more than half the games in a season since 2022-23. He struggled to a 15-24-3 record and .891 save percentage with a rebuilding Montreal team. Simultaneously, no NHL team trusted David Rittich with the starter’s net since 2019-20. Rittich played well in that role for Calgary. Still, there’s a reason he’s only been trusted as a backup since. Over the last five seasons, Rittich has averaged 24.2 appearances per season. Per Hockey Reference’s Goals Saved Above Average statistic, he’s been a net positive player in that stat only once since transitioning to a backup role.
Nico Daws is the Wildcard in Devils’ Three-Goalie Tandem
New Jersey has invested quite a lot of time in the Munich-born German netminder. The Devils might have overplayed Nico Daws early in his NHL career due to necessity, as he started 43 games while still on his entry-level contract. The Devils have shown more organizational patience with Daws since then. Daws struggled some at the AHL level, leaving something to be desired. Still, he’s performed well in limited NHL duties since.
In the past two seasons, Daws is 5-2-0 across nine appearances with a .925 save percentage, 2.02 GAA and one shutout. The Devils don’t need him to extrapolate that across 50 games (though Mehta likely wouldn’t complain). However, they could use Daws to do that over 15 to 20 games.
Essentially, Keefe would like to be able to count on Daws at least in the Colten Ellis role in the Devils’ three-goalie tandem.
The Devils and the Metropolitan Division
The Devils want to be a playoff team. Devils fans expect more in 2026. Excuses should be in short supply for a deep team with veteran coaching and player talent. The Metropolitan Division is very open after Carolina.
A strong start from the Devils’ three-goalie tandem could put them in contention to solve their other issues at the trade deadline. The Devils tried twice to buy Jack Hughes insurance in the form of Barrett Hayton. If the goalies do their part behind a structured team, they’ll get another chance in March.
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