Markstrom trade can help get Devils back to playoffs, Haula says

EDINA, Minn. -- Erik Haula believes the moves the New Jersey Devils made this offseason are enough for them to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I think ‘Fitzy’ (general manager Tom Fitzgerald) did a really good job of taking care of certain areas that we need to be better at,” the Devils forward said Wednesday at Da Beauty League, a 4-on-4 summer league featuring NHL and collegiate players with ties to Minnesota. “It all starts from there. And me and the other guys are sure excited to get started in a few weeks here.”

New Jersey (38-39-5), coming off a seventh-place finish in the Metropolitan Division and missing the playoffs for the 10th time in 12 seasons, made its biggest offseason splash by acquiring goalie Jacob Markstrom in a trade with the Calgary Flames on June 19 for defenseman Kevin Bahl and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Markstrom went 23-23-2 with a 2.78 goals-against average, .905 save percentage and two shutouts in 48 starts last season. Since 2019-20, the 34-year-old is fourth in the NHL in games played (256), tied with Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins for fourth in shutouts (17), and ranks sixth in saves (6,594), shots against (7,256) and wins (128).

The Devils used five goalies last season and allowed 3.43 goals per game, tied with the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators for the fifth-most in the NHL.

“Picking up ‘Marky’ was huge,” Haula said. “That’s the big one. We kind of needed that a little bit, just to be the backbone back there that we can trust night in and night out. He’s a proven pro, and then you have ‘Jakey’ (Jake Allen, acquired in a trade with Montreal on March 8) with him too, so it’s going to be a good one-two punch.”

After trading Bahl and then sending defenseman John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club on June 29 with a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft for a second-round pick in 2024 and 2025, the Devils bolstered their blue line on July 1 by signing Brett Pesce to a six-year, $33 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value) and Brenden Dillon to a three-year, $12 million contract ($4 million AAV).

Pesce, 29, had 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 70 regular-season games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and one assist in two playoff games. Dillon, 33, had 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 77 regular-season games for the Winnipeg Jets last season and three assists in three playoff games.

New Jersey also brought back forwards Stefan Noesen (three-year, $8.25 million contract on July 1; $2.75 million AAV) and Tomas Tatar (one-year, $1.8 million contract on July 2), who each played for the Devils previously.

Noesen, 31, who was with New Jersey from 2016-19, had 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 81 regular-season games for Carolina last season and four goals in 11 playoff games. Tatar, 33, who played for the Devils from 2021-23, had 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 70 regular-season games for the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken last season.

However, the biggest factor up front for the Devils this season could be the health of Jack Hughes. The 23-year-old center was sidelined twice last season for a total of 16 games with an upper-body injury before missing the final four games because of shoulder surgery. Hughes, who finished second on the Devils with 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists) in 62 games, behind forward Jesper Bratt (83 points; 27 goals, 56 assists in 82 games), is expected to be at training camp.

“For him, the sky’s the limit,” Haula said of Hughes. “He’s definitely one of the better players in the League with the puck, and one of the more dangerous guys off the rush. So having him at full strength, along with a couple other guys who had some issues that they got taken care of, we’ll be ready to go.”

Haula is looking forward to new coach Sheldon Keefe trying to guide New Jersey back to the postseason. He was hired May 23 to take over for interim coach Travis Green, who replaced the fired Lindy Ruff on March 4. Keefe, 43, was fired as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 9 after five seasons. He was 212-97-40 in 349 regular-season games and 16-21 in 37 playoff games.

“Aspirations are high for us,” Haula said. “The goals are there, but it starts with Day One, and we’ll go from there. It’s important to get a good start and feel good about our team and move it in the right direction. A new coach, some new and familiar faces, I think we can do just that.”