The New Jersey Devils need to improve their goaltending play. This is undisputed. Over the past three years, general manager Tom Fitzgerald has sought to improve the position through the draft, free agency, and trades and is seemingly back to square one. The acquisition of veteran Jake Allen from Montreal at the trade deadline gave the team a solid backup who brings the experience of winning the Stanley Cup and needed leadership to a locker room yearning for direction. With the backup slot solidified, Fitzgerald said he would spend his summer going “big game hunting” for a starting goaltender. Everyone from insiders to fans alike has bandied about the names of Juuse Saros, Jacob Markstrom, and Linus Ullmark as possible acquisitions. Still, when you zoom out and look at the full picture, the best goalie for the Devils’ future is none of those three, but rather a current Florida Panther, Anthony Stolarz.
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After spending the first six seasons of his career playing for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, and Anaheim Ducks, the 30-year-old New Jersey native headed south to Sunrise to form the back half of a tandem with veteran Sergei Bobrovsky. In 27 games with Florida, Stolarz posted counting stats and analytics that put him among the best goalies in the NHL. He posted a .925 save percentage (SV%) with 2.03 goals against average (GAA) and saved .801 goals above expected per 60 min; all three led the NHL for goalies with a minimum of 25 games played. He saved 20.1 goals above expected, which was good enough for third in the league behind Vezina Trophy finalists Connor Hellebuyck and Thatcher Demko. Over the last three seasons, he has posted the second-best high-danger save percentage (HDSV%) in the NHL at .848. The stats only tell part of the story; while there are concerns, the positives outweigh the negatives.
Stolarz Is a Career Backup
Stolarz is not a slam dunk. He has never started 30 games in a season. He has never played in a playoff game. One sure critique is that he often plays against lesser competition as a backup. These criticisms are accurate and should give Fitzgerald pause, but none are or should be deal breakers. In his 27 games this season, he played nine against teams that eventually made the playoffs, holding those teams to 15 goals. He surrendered four goals in road games at the Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, and Toronto Maple Leafs despite two games needing…
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