Happy Halloween.
The New Jersey Devils recently announced that they have signed goaltender Jacob Markstrom to a two-year deal worth $6 million per year, beginning in the 2026-27 season.
Going by the full press release, Markstrom’s contract does not currently appear to include any trade protection, though his page on PuckPedia currently notes that the “contract breakdown will be updated.” So far this season, Markstrom is 2-2-0 with a 5.13 goals against average and an .830 save percentage, winning one game in relief for Jake Allen while not yet turning in a good start of his own. In 53 games and 52 starts as a Devil (that relief win was actually his first relief appearance with the team), Markstrom is 28-18-6 with an .895 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average, earning four shutouts in this time. In the playoffs, Markstrom had a .911 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average.
If you are a Devils fan who was put off by Markstrom’s start to the season, you might not be thrilled about the news. It was only on Wednesday morning that Jared asked, “Are we asking too much to see Markstrom play well before the Devils make a potential major mistake signing him?”
That said, this deal is not that much of a commitment, especially when you think about the (ridiculous, I thought) rumors that Markstrom was looking for a five-year deal worth $5 million per season. At his age, I did not really believe he would ask for that kind of deal, and the coverage here would be much more negative towards Fitzgerald if that was the deal signed. But at two years and no raise (albeit without Calgary retaining a chunk of the deal), Jacob Markstrom is not going to hold the team back by any stretch of the imagination. He has been a pretty good goaltender, for the most part.
Hopefully, Markstrom will bounce back with a win tomorrow night in Los Angeles. The Devils are working through several injuries in their lineup in addition to getting him back up to speed following his lower-body injury. The Devils are also not going to look like they did the last two games forever. After an eight-game winning streak and an injury to Brett Pesce, some defensive regression was…expected. They will have to get through it, and Markstrom is going to have to make some saves and show everyone why he got these two extra years.
Combined, Markstrom and Allen will carry a cap hit of $7.8 million over the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. I do not think they will get through this season or the next two without help from the Devils’ younger goalies, though, so we will see how that shakes out. Markstrom, of course, has not played fewer than 48 games since the 2020-21 season, averaging over 52 starts per season since becoming Vancouver’s starter in the 2018-19 season. With the Devils, Markstrom now hopes to get to 300 career wins with his eyes set on a Stanley Cup run. Hopefully he can take a page out of Bob’s book and get two despite his age.
Your Thoughts
I want to keep this one brief so people can react, so what are your thoughts on the Markstrom deal? Were you expecting this to happen so quickly? What are your thoughts on the term and compensation? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
