The New Jersey Devils have traded goalie Keith Kinkaid to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fifth-round pick in 2022.
Kinkaid, 29, has a 15-18-6 record for the Devils this season, his fifth with the team. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The move gives the Blue Jackets options in goal. The team has been using a platoon of Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo this season, but with Bobrovsky also a pending free agent, the door is open for Kinkaid to sign with the team for beyond this season.
“While we believe goaltending is a position of strength for our club with Sergei Bobrovsky and Joonas Korpisalo, we thought it was important to add depth to the position,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said in a press release. “Keith Kinkaid is an experienced National Hockey League goaltender who will provide that depth as we move through the final month of the regular season and into the spring.”
For the Devils, a team outside the playoff picture, the trade opens the door for top goaltender prospect Mackenzie Blackwood to get some more NHL starts down the stretch. In 13 games with the Devils this season, the 22-year-old has a 6-4-0 record with a 2.37 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts.
“Keith’s play throughout last season, especially his performance down the stretch, was key in leading this club to the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs,” said Devils GM Ray Shero in a statement. “He was part of this team’s eventual transformation since he took over a regular role in 2014-15 and we greatly appreciate his efforts over his time here.”
