The New Jersey Devils still have some goaltending decisions to sort out before the 2026-27 season arrives, and the picture gets a little murkier once you move past the NHL roster.
For now, Sunny Mehta appears set on carrying three goalies at the top level: Jake Allen, Nico Daws and David Rittich. That leaves the organization with about six weeks before training camp to figure out what comes next in Utica and beyond. Sheldon Keefe could still decide he only wants two of those goalies on the NHL roster, but as things stand, all three are still there.
Down in the system, Jakub Malek is the only goalie in Utica on a contract that could put him in New Jersey if needed. Tyler Brennan and Jeremy Brodeur are both on AHL deals with Utica, though both can also be loaned to Adirondack in the ECHL, where they spent most of the 2025-26 season.
If the Devils do nothing and keep all three NHL goalies in place, they still have enough tenders to cover the NHL and AHL rosters. And if one of Brennan or Brodeur stays in Utica, Adirondack would still be able to find another goalie to fill out its group.
If the Devils want to do more than simply get by, though, there’s a case for adding another unsigned goalie to the organization. Brodeur is already 29 and has not moved beyond ECHL regular status.
Brennan is just shy of 23, but he also hasn’t shown much forward progress. Malek may eventually reach the NHL, but the Devils could use another prospect in the pipeline who can get reps and develop inside their system.
Mikhail Yegorov, Veeti Louhivaara, Trenten Bennett and Daniil Rusakovich all have their rights held by New Jersey, and one of them could be the next to sign.
Rusakovich feels like the least likely option right now. He was just picked in the most recent draft, which makes him the youngest and possibly the least polished of the unsigned goalies.
The Devils also hold his rights indefinitely because there is no transfer agreement with the KHL and its affiliates, so there’s no rush there. Bennett and the other two 20-year-olds are in a different spot, but Bennett was drafted a year later and gives New Jersey an extra year to decide, with the earliest deadline not coming until 2029.
That makes him another player the Devils can afford to wait on.
That leaves Louhivaara and Yegorov if New Jersey decides to sign an undrafted prospect. Their numbers this season were similar, but Yegorov played 13 more NCAA games than Louhivaara played USHL games.
There’s also a little more to go on with Yegorov from live viewings. At a BU/UConn game this season, he got lit up, but he was playing behind a rebuilding BU defense that surrendered plenty of odd-man rushes and breakaways.
When the play was in front of him and he was set, he looked composed and in control, even with the defense breaking down around him.
Because of that, Yegorov looks like the stronger candidate to get signed. Still, the decision may come down to how the Devils view Malek.
If they rank Malek above Yegorov and the other unsigned goalies, then they may want him handling the bulk of the AHL workload, with one of the ECHL goalies backing him up. If the goal is to sort through as many options as possible and identify an internal answer in net, then signing Yegorov, Louhivaara or even Bennett would make sense as a way to narrow the field.
Training camp may be the point where this really starts to come into focus, especially once the Devils see which of the three 20-year-olds performs best. But the expectation here is that New Jersey adds another goalie for the AHL level this season.
A demotion from the NHL group does not seem likely, either. With depth becoming more valuable across the league, the Devils probably do not want to risk losing any of their goaltending depth on waivers this season.
So the most likely outcome is that Utica ends up with two young Devils battling for position, each trying to prove he can be an NHL goalie sooner rather than later.
In Other News...
Devils Finally Have A Reason To Care About Utica Again
Utica has not been much more than a distant outpost for the Devils in recent seasons, but this summer gave the organization a reason to pay closer attention. Sunny Mehta, who oversees hockey operations in New Jersey, has pushed through a meaningful reset of the Comets roster and management structure, starting with the hiring of Braden Birch as assistant general manager and general manager in Utica.
The roster work has been just as notable, with the Comets adding several players who bring real AHL scoring potential while also keeping important pieces from last season in place. For New Jersey, the hope is straightforward: make Utica more competitive, more stable and more useful as a development stop for the next wave of NHL talent. [Read more 🡒]
Tomas Nosek Leaves Devils After Sudden Career Turnaround
Tomas Nosek is heading back to where it all started, signing with HC Dynamo Pardubice for the upcoming season after a long NHL run that included stops with the Devils and Panthers. For New Jersey, he was a veteran forward brought in for depth and experience, and for Florida he became part of a championship group, finishing with a Stanley Cup win in 2025.
The move sends Nosek back to Czechia and to the club where he launched his career, a full-circle decision that fits the stage he is at now. After more than 500 NHL games, the jump to Europe likely marks the final stretch of his professional playing days, closing out a career that took an unexpected late turn into a title run. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Suddenly Have A New Samu Salminen Dilemma
Samu Salminens next move is suddenly a real talking point for the Devils, because the forward is nearing free agency after four years of NCAA hockey and still has not signed with New Jersey. For a team that always has one eye on the pipeline and the other on the clock, that leaves his path hanging in the balance at just the moment his college career appears to be reaching its natural end.
A recent Colorado court ruling has made the situation more complicated by opening the door for some athletes who began college sports in the 2022-23 season and used up four years of eligibility to return to NCAA athletics. Salminen now has a wider menu of choices than the usual pro-hockey decision tree, with the ability to sign with any NHL team, go back to college hockey, or keep his career moving in Europe, and that uncertainty is exactly what makes his case worth watching for New Jersey. [Read more 🡒]