Brief Overview
It was not Brock Boeser or Connor Garland, nor did general manager Tom Fitzgerald light the fireworks on trade deadline day. However, the New Jersey Devils did end up making a move. The team acquired netminder Andrew Hammond in exchange for forward Nate Schnarr. It’s not the major splash everyone wanted, but it’s a move to help NewJersey’s year long goaltending issue.
The Move
The New Jersey Devils have been plagued by goaltending all season long. Injuries to Mackenzie Blackwood and Johnathan Bernier were a nail in the coffin. Since then, the Devils have been rotating between Nico Daws, Jon Gillies, and Akira Schmid. Nico Daws, while playing okay, needs some help carrying the load. Even though Hammond is a pending unrestricted free agent at year’s end, it’s a necessary move to help the team.
Statistics
Andrew Hammond started his career with the Ottawa Senators and was later shipped out to the Montreal Canadiens. Between the two clubs, Hammond has started only 52 games and has won 30. Hammond set the hockey world on fire in 2014-15, winning 20 out of 23 games and was a rock star in Ottawa. Hammond has not seen much action since, only starting a handful of games each season up until this point.
Despite that, he posts career save percentage of .923 and a career goals-against average of 2.31 in the NHL. He has made a NHL appearance across five different seasons. In these five seasons he has had goals saved above expected (GSAx) rating of above zero in all but one season. Hammond has a .908 save percentage in 11 AHL games this season. He is at a career .906 across 176 AHL games played.
Nate Schnarr, who is going back to Montreal, took a step forward this season in the AHL. The center has 26 points in 43 games played. However, a log jam at the center position in Utica (AHL) most likely made New Jersey hold Schnarr as expendable.
Outlook
The Devils have been stuck in goaltender purgatory since Martin Brodeur took the crease. Andrew Hammond is not Marc-Andre Fleury (who was the top goalie on end market), but he is a goaltender capable of playing at the NHL level. Is it a long-term solution? No, most likely not. But, he should serve as a nice stop-gap solution.