After hiring Sheldon Keefe as the new head coach for the New Jersey Devils, General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is now focusing on his next off-season task. On Tuesday, Josh Gold-Smith from TheScore reported that Fitzgerald is considering trading the team’s 10th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to acquire a top-tier goaltender.
“If we feel it helps us now and in the foreseeable future, then, yes, I’m listening,” Fitzgerald told Mike G. Morreale of the NHL on Monday. “I haven’t received any offers yet, but I’m open to moving No. 10 if it’s for something significant.”
Should the Devils trade the 10th overall pick, they could potentially acquire goalies like Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames, Juuse Saros from the Nashville Predators, or Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, provided they can sign Saros or Ullmark to an extension this summer.
The Devils have a history of trading top-10 picks for established goaltenders. After reaching the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, they traded their ninth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft to the Vancouver Canucks for Cory Schneider, who had a .927 save percentage over 30 games the previous year. Despite making the playoffs only once during Schneider’s seven-year tenure, the trade demonstrated the value of a top-10 pick for acquiring a high-caliber goaltender. Similarly, the 10th overall pick this year should be sufficient to secure any of the three goalies mentioned.
