Flames trade G Jacob Markstrom to the Devils: What you need to know

The Calgary Flames are trading goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Travis Yost was the first to report the news before Seravalli confirmed the report. Markstrom has two years remaining on his current contract worth an annual average value of $6 million per season, per CapFriendly.com. The Devils were in desperate need of a starting-caliber goalie and have found their No. 1 behind Jake Allen going into the 2024-25 regular season.

Update — The Devils are sending D Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick to the Flames in return for Markstrom, per Darren Dreger. The Flames are also retaining 31.25% of Markstrom’s contract in the deal.

This is a good deal for the Devils. The Flames also get a first back, which isn’t a bad return for an aging goalie in Markstrom. But if New Jersey bounces back, losing that pick doesn’t mean much. The Devils needed to move on from Bahl, who had an awful season after showing flashes of promise in the first round vs. the New York Rangers in 2023. The Devils also keep the No. 10 pick and W Alexander Holtz, plus F Dawson Mercer. We’ll see if Tom Fitzgerald has another move in the works before the draft.

Markstrom, 34, is coming off an average season for the Flames, who missed the playoffs in 2023-24. Calgary botched both the Johnny Gaudreau free agency and then were forced to trade Matthew Tkachuk, who is one win away from being a champion with the Florida Panthers. Calgary then traded Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin before the deadline this regular season. The team is still stuck with Jonathan Huberdeau’s bloated contract and a long-term deal for veteran center Nazem Kadri. Markstrom’s departure was imminent.

In 48 games during the regular season, Markstrom posted a 23-23-2 record with a 2.78 GAA and .905 SV%. It wasn’t too long ago Markstrom won 37 games and finished second in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender. The hope for New Jersey is that Markstrom has enough left in the tank to lift the team back into the postseason after missing it in 2023-24. Prior to this season, the Devils surprised everyone, winning 52 games and finishing with a franchise-record 112 points. New Jersey has operated with below average goaltending since Cory Schneider fell off a cliff after turning 30 years old. Markstrom is arguably the best goalie the Devils have had since Martin Brodeur left the team.

Now, the Flames can focus on looking for another franchise goalie, which could come in the form of prospect Dustin Wolf. He played 17 games this past season and should split time with Daniel Vladar in a tandem for 2024-25. The Flames need to retool around Huberdeau and Kadri and the path towards accomplishing that is by accumulating picks and drafting high in 2025. The Flames have the No. 9 pick in the 2024 draft and can use that to add another dynamic forward, likely a center.