Are the Devils smart to not invest too much money into goaltending?

‘Goalies are voodoo’ has become an increasingly popular saying in the hockey world over the past decade or so, meant to convey the capriciousness of what has historically been known as the most important position in the game. Aside from a precious few elite goalies, such as Connor Hellebuyck or Andrei Vasilevskiy, goaltending performance can be fickle, making it almost impossible for any NHL team to have complete confidence in what they have between the pipes going into a given season.

The New Jersey Devils seem to be gaming the unpredictablity of goaltending by spending very little on the position. They’re entering the 2026-27 season with the tandem of Jake Allen and Nico Daws in net, both of whom have cap hit of less than $2 million. In a recent interview with NHL.com, Devils general manager Sunny Mehta explained his decision to go cheap on goaltending. “Starters and backups are extremely talented, which can make performance difficult to predict,” he said. “Because there is randomness at the position, I’m reluctant to invest significant assets there instead of in areas where the results may be more predictable.”

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton discussed New Jersey’s cost-cutting approach to goaltending.

Tyler Yaremchuk: What do you think of Sunny Mehta basically saying “It’s random. Why would we spend $8 million when a $1 million guy can come do the job?”

Carter Hutton: I don’t agree with it. For so many years we thought about the stability of giving a guy a big contract, but you see guys get hot at the right time and be the difference maker. Exhibit A would be Brandon Bussi last year and how good he was for the Carolina Hurricanes coming in and sealing the deal. I think back to Thunder Bay’s own Matt Murray who was unbelievable with those two playoff teams, he won two Cups in Pittsburgh. After that he was never really able to bite off a ton in his career.

But that being said, it still is risky because you’re a great example of it in Edmonton. You’ve always been like “If we just had that guy who was a difference maker.” It’s also how your team is built to insulate your goalie, which I think becomes a big storyline here as well.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Wednesday’s episode here…