On June 19, the New Jersey Devils made the first massive trade of the 2024 offseason. They acquired 34-year-old stud goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames for defenseman Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected). With 31.25 percent retention on Markstrom’s contract by the Flames, his cap hit is just $4.125 million for the Devils.
The Devils, whose goaltending was a big reason why they missed the playoffs in 2023-24, got one of the best on the market in Markstrom. On the flip side, the Flames seem to be signaling that they are entering a true rebuild by getting rid of arguably their best player.
Are the Devils Stanley Cup Contenders?
The Devils, with an elite core of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, Luke Hughes, and others, seem to be true contenders now. They have a ton of youth throughout their roster and the upside to be one of the best teams in the NHL, especially now that they have their solution between the pipes.
New Jersey was seen as one of the favorites to win the Metropolitan Division in 2023-24 after making it to the second round of the postseason in 2023, but injuries combined with some of the worst goaltending in the league hurt them badly. Of the three netminders with the most starts with the Devils, the one who had the best overall numbers was Akira Schmid. On the season, he had a .895 save percentage (SV%), a 3.15 goals-against average (GAA), minus-3.8 goals saved above average (GSAA), and minus-3.0 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
With the Flames, Markstrom’s numbers were the complete opposite. In 48 starts, he had a .905 SV%, a 2.78 GAA, 2.3 GSAA, and 13.7 GSAx. Those first three stats are mostly due to Calgary’s struggles as a team, but his elite GSAx puts just how well he played into better context. He wasn’t in the greatest situation—that doesn’t change the fact that he was exceptional.
Now that the Devils have a legitimate starter instead of three struggling backups, they might be able to take that next step into contention. As long as they are healthy, this should be a good get for them. With a $4.125 million cap hit for the next two seasons, he is making more than reasonable money to top…
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