The Calgary Flames have agreed to trade star goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils.
The Flames are receiving defenceman Kevin Bahl and a top-10 protected 2025 pick in return for the 34-year-old.
Calgary will retain 31.25 per cent of Markstrom’s remaining contract. The netminder is headed into the fifth season of a six-year, $36-million contract he signed with the Flames in 2020. The cap hit for the deal in New Jersey will be $4,125,000 each season.
He has been among the top goalies in the NHL since joining Calgary and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22. This past season, Markstrom had a .905 save percentage and a 23-23-2 record.
Markstrom ranks fifth all-time among Flames goalies in games played and wins and third in shutouts.
In a Q&A with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis published on Tuesday, Calgary general manager Craig Conroy said that Markstrom had not requested a trade despite some of the rumours to come out around the goaltender over the past few months.
“It’s part of the game, but it does bother me because it’s always out there — there’s something about the goalie all the time and I don’t think it’s fair to the goalie either,” Conroy told Francis of the chatter around Markstrom.
“I feel more for him because I’ve been on the other side of this.
“Everyone wants to speculate and throw things out there and I don’t think it’s fair to him.”
It has been reported that the Flames and Devils came close to a Markstrom deal at the trade deadline, but Calgary opted to keep their top goalie after a strong stretch of play.
During his exit interview at the end of the Flames’ season, Markstrom didn’t do much to dispel the notion that he might not be back in Calgary for the 2024-25 season.
“What I do know is I love winning hockey games,” he said about his future. “That’s the competitive side of me. Every time I lace up my skates that’s what I want to accomplish. That’s pretty much where my head is at right now.”
The 14-year NHL veteran refused to go into any details about the potential pre-deadline deal to the Devils, but said his relationship with the front office was not strained.
“In my mind, I’m here now, so all the rambling could have been not happening,” he explained as to why the mid-season trade talks were so frustrating. “That’s what I would have appreciated, just me focusing on the team and playing as good as I can without any distractions, is what I was mostly pointing at.”
Bahl, 23, played in all 82 games for New Jersey in 2023-24, scoring one goal and 10 points. He had a plus-one rating and 82 penalty minutes, as well.
Originally a second-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2018, Bahl was traded to New Jersey as part of a package for forward Taylor Hall in 2019. He made his NHL debut in 2020-21 and has appeared in all four seasons with the Devils since.
The six-foot-six, 230-pound defenceman has played 148 career games and scored four goals and 25 points.
The trade clears up the Flames to give the crease to 23-year-old Dustin Wolf.
Wolf, a seventh-round pick by Calgary in 2019, has emerged as one of the top goalie prospects over the past two seasons. With the Flames’ AHL affiliate, in Stockton and Calgary, the six-foot-tall netminder has won the league’s MVP and two Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Awards as the top goaltender.
He made his NHL debut in the final game of the 2022-23 season and appeared in 17 games with the Flames this past year. With Calgary in 2023-24, Wold posted a 7-7-1 record with a .893 save percentage and 3.16 goals-against-average.
In a surprising move, the Calgary Flames have traded goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils. This trade comes as a shock to many fans and analysts, as Markstrom was seen as a key player for the Flames and a cornerstone of their goaltending unit.
Markstrom, who signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Flames in 2020, had a solid season with the team, posting a 22-19-2 record with a 2.66 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. However, with the Flames missing the playoffs for the third straight season, it seems that the team is looking to shake things up and make some changes to their roster.
In exchange for Markstrom, the Flames will receive a package of draft picks and prospects from the Devils. This trade could signal a rebuilding phase for the Flames, as they look to acquire young talent and build for the future.
For the Devils, acquiring Markstrom gives them a proven veteran goaltender who can provide stability between the pipes. With their young core of players, including top draft pick Jack Hughes, the Devils are looking to make a push for the playoffs next season and Markstrom could be a key piece in that puzzle.
Overall, this trade is sure to shake up both teams and will be interesting to see how it plays out in the upcoming season. Fans of both the Flames and the Devils will be eagerly watching to see how Markstrom performs with his new team and how the Flames fare without their former starting goaltender.