3 glaring regrets for the New Jersey Devils after the first quarter of the season

1. Not upgrading the goaltending

Out of anything the organization did or didn’t do, not upgrading the goaltending has turned out to be the biggest issue. Vitek Vanecek had a very strong regular season in 2022-23 before falling apart in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Akira Schmid wrote his origin story in the playoffs by digging the Devils out of a hole and helping propel them past the New York Rangers in the first round. The organization decided to bank on Vanecek performing as he did during the regular season and Schmid developing into a young star.

Schmid has struggled in the first quarter of the 2023-24 season, but he’s been serviceable in recent starts. Vanecek, however, has had a terrible season so far. He has an .879 SV% and 3.49 GAA. It’s true that defense contributes to the problem, and it isn’t all on Vanecek, but there are a lot of saves he should be making that he just isn’t. He seems to have lost his confidence, and there isn’t much the Devils can do about it right now.

The goaltending depth has disappeared. The Devils rightfully moved on from Mackenzie Blackwood after last season. Nico Daws, a promising prospect, had hip surgery in the offseason, and there hasn’t been an update on him since then. Tyler Brennan has played poorly in the ECHL. Erik Kallgren hasn’t played well in the AHL. Keith Kinkaid hasn’t looked good. Essentially, the Devils don’t have internal options for replacing Vanecek or Schmid.

Now that the Devils’ goalie crisis is abundantly clear, what can they do about it? The outlook isn’t great. They’ll be shopping around for a goalie via the trade market between now and the trade deadline in March, but the market is bleak. For now, they need to go with Schmid as the starter. Either that or find Vanecek a new Hibachi chef. He held a .913 SV% before his favorite Hibachi restaurant closed and has a .869 SV% since it closed. There has to be another tasty Hibachi spot in New Jersey.

Time will tell if the Devils’ mistakes will cost them a playoff berth. There’s still plenty of time to turn things around, but they now have a mountain to climb.