Devils Recall Daws, Vilen From Utica Comets Ahead of Playoffs

The injury shutdown of Jacob Markstrom on April 10 triggered a rapid reshuffle for New Jersey, with the Devils recalling goaltender Nico Daws and defenseman Topias Vilen from their AHL affiliate in Utica to close out the final three games of a difficult season. Both players were on the ice for Friday's practice, with head coach Sheldon Keefe indicating Daws is expected to start Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.

Markstrom, who posted a 23-19-1 record with an .883 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average across 44 games this season, was shut down to rest and rehab nagging injuries. For Daws, 25, the call comes at a meaningful moment: he appeared in one game for the Devils this season, stopping 31 of 32 shots in a victory against Minnesota in October. His NHL track record over the past two seasons reads 4-1-0 with a .945 save percentage and 1.49 goals-against average in seven appearances, numbers that position this recall as more than routine injury fill-in.

The cost to Utica is real. Daws was the Comets' most reliable presence between the pipes, logging 38 appearances this season with a 2.99 goals-against average and .885 save percentage. He became the fifth Utica Comets goaltender with five career shutouts, joining Isaac Poulter, Akira Schmidt, Joacim Eriksson, and Jacob Markstrom, and sits at 45 career AHL wins, ten from matching Thatcher Demko's franchise record. With his departure, the Comets' crease responsibilities fall to backups at exactly the wrong moment on the calendar.

Vilen's exit is an equally significant blow to the Comets' blue line. A fifth-round pick in 2021, the 6-foot-1 Finnish defenseman is in his third season stateside, carrying a career AHL scoring line of 7-70-77 across 171 games with a plus-5 rating. He posted a career-high four goals and 20 assists for 24 points in 59 appearances this season. On the penalty kill, his footprint was particularly valuable: the Comets scored eight shorthanded goals while surrendering only 14 on the PK with Vilen on the ice. Replacing that kind of two-way reliability with postseason implications in view is a difficult ask for whoever steps into his role.

Utica's 62 points trailed the Rochester Americans by five for the fifth and final playoff spot in the North Division, with six games remaining and Belleville one point behind the Comets. Losing a starter-caliber goaltender and a top-four defenseman into that stretch is the kind of collateral damage that can quietly determine whether a fringe playoff contender survives the final week.

Vilen ranks as the 11th-best prospect in New Jersey's organizational pool and third among left-handed defenders, behind 2024 tenth-overall pick Anton Silayev and 2022 fourth-rounder Daniil Orlov. His recall carries an evaluative dimension: with the Devils eliminated from Stanley Cup contention as of April 7 and sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference, New Jersey's next game is against the Red Wings on Saturday, followed by a home game hosting Ottawa on Sunday and a season finale Tuesday against Boston. Those three games are an audition as much as a stopgap, and how Daws handles the crease with Markstrom's future in New Jersey increasingly uncertain heading into the offseason will carry weight in the organization's goaltending decisions for 2026-27.