Over the weekend, ESPN and NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes reported that the Devils are “gauging market interest in clubs on goaltender Jacob Markstrom”.
Weekes stressed that a deal is not imminent. But when it comes to the goaltending market, and the Devils organization in particular, Weekes putting that tidbit out there publicly is noteworthy. Weekes is as plugged in as anybody on those particular fronts, so if he’s hearing the Devils have Markstrom out there on the market, there’s probably some
truth to that.
It’s not surprising that new GM Sunny Mehta is at least exploring the market on a Markstrom trade either. Much has been written about how his contract extension made no sense when it happened. Markstrom proceeded to turn in a season that was poor enough where we’re asking if there is any way out of that deal, including if a buyout is possible. One of my offseason predictions was that the Devils would indeed move on from Markstrom.
Of course, I assumed that when you played as poorly as Markstrom played, you make $6M AAV for two more seasons, you’re Markstrom’s age, and you have a 20-team no trade list beginning on July 1st…..the contract itself is a no-trade clause and the Devils are probably stuck with him. That may still prove to be true. But then I also remembered that this is the NHL, nobody is unmovable, and there are teams out there that actually have worse goaltending situations than the Devils. So I shouldn’t be surprised that if one from the outside were to squint hard enough, they could convince themselves that Markstrom was banged up last year, he has had a good track record for most of his career, and there might be a decent goaltender still in there.
Sunny Mehta exploring the trade market is one thing. Finding a potential partner is another, and agreeing on a deal is yet another hurdle to overcome. So this week, I decided it would be worth it to take a look at the other 31 teams and see what teams might make sense for Mehta to connect with on a potential deal.
But before we get into that, we should explore why it makes sense for Markstrom to be open to a trade.
What Incentive is There For Markstrom To Accept a Trade?
As we know, Markstrom has a 20-team no trade list. However, there is plenty of incentive for him to accept a deal. Particularly if the Devils have already made it known to Markstrom behind closed doors that they want to move on.
If you’re Sunny Mehta, is it possible he has already presented Markstrom with one of two options.
Option A: Markstrom can play hardball on a trade and/or refuse to cooperate. The Devils choose to indeed buy him out in the second buyout window. Markstrom can pocket 2/3 of the money owed to him and pick his next destination, but keep in mind, the arbitration process takes awhile. He might not hit the open market until sometime in August. By then, most teams will have their rosters more or less set going into training camp. It’s a game of musical chairs, and its possible there’s no chair remaining for Markstrom if this drags out well into the summer.
Option B: Markstrom accepts a trade to a team willing to take him and he gets as much of the $12M owed to him as possible (before taxes). Or at the very least, he gets the $6M owed to him this upcoming season, and his next team can figure out what to do with him with a year left on that deal. You may or may not wind up on the team you want to be on, but at least you’re still in the NHL and you have the opportunity to stick it to Sunny Mehta and the Devils down the road.
Which option do you think is preferable? I would say Option B if I were Markstrom. So I do think that has to at least be considered going into this exercise.
Now, let’s look at the teams across the NHL and see if there are any potential fits
The “We Have Our Franchise Goaltender, And We’re Paying Him a Lot of Money Already, So No Thanks” Tier
Teams: Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals
We can go ahead and wipe about 25% of the league right off of the bat.
Boston and Calgary have made long-term investments in their young, homegrown goaltenders. Neither Swayman or Wolf is going anywhere anytime soon. The same can be said for Logan Thompson, who isn’t homegrown but has found a long-term home in the nation’s capital.
Jake Oettinger and Juuse Saros are coming off of down years. They also both have full NMCs, so they’re not going anywhere unless they want out.
That leaves three of the best goaltenders in the league in Ilya Sorokin, Igor Shesterkin, and Andrei Vasilevskiy, and with the possible exception of Shesterkin, I can’t see any scenario where any of them move this summer. Maybe there’s a scenario where Shesterkin asks out if the Rangers embrace a long-term rebuild, but that remains to be seen, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they want a 36-year old Jacob Markstrom instead.
The “We Either Have, Or We’re About To Pay Our Guy, so We’ll Pass” Tier
Teams: Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers , Seattle Kraken
Lukas Dostal had his struggles in his first season as the unquestioned starter in Anaheim, but he’s still just 25 years old and part of that growing Anaheim core. There’s little reason for the Ducks to move off of him.
Jakub Dobes played brilliantly for the Canadiens, helping to lead them to the Eastern Conference Final this past season. He’s part of the future in Montreal.
Kevin Weekes reported over the weekend that the Flyers and Dan Vladar are closing in on a 5-year extension in the “mid $5M AAV” range. Vladar isn’t going anywhere. Add in the Joseph Woll trade and Philly is seemingly set in net.
Joey Daccord had a bit of a down year by his standards this past season for the Kraken, but he’s been generally good in Seattle and is signed for four more seasons at $5M AAV. They also have an expensive backup in Phillip Grubauer entering the final year of his contract.
The “We’re Bad and We’re Rebuilding, So Markstrom Doesn’t Really Make Sense for Us At This Time” Tier
Teams: San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues
San Jose is an interesting team in that Yaroslav Askarov is the future there, but he has yet to consistently play well at the NHL level. He got plenty of runway this year but had his struggles. Alex Nedeljkovic is the current veteran tandem partner, and it doesn’t really make sense for San Jose to look to upgrade over Nedeljkovic at the moment when they just extended him.
Jordan Binnington might have already played his final game for the St. Louis Blues, as he’s a trade candidate this summer. Binnington also struggled this year, but he’s shown in international competition that he’s capable of elevating his game, and there’s less of a commitment to going with Binnington than there is of going with Markstrom. Joel Hofer is probably St. Louis’s future in net.
The “I’m Not Really Sure What’s Going On Here In The Big Picture, But I Do Know Taking on Markstrom Doesn’t Really Fix Anything” Tier
Teams: Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs
Buffalo is a weird one where they have Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen signed for three more years, Alex Lyon under contract next season, and former top prospect Devon Levi in the AHL. Lyon got the majority of the playing time for the Sabres in the postseason and was fine until he wasn’t. I don’t know what direction they’re planning on going in.
Carolina literally just won a Stanley Cup with Frederik Andersen once again raising his game in the postseason and former waiver claim Brandon Bussi getting the team over the finish line in the Cup Final. They’re also one of the smartest organizations in the league and one that doesn’t pay a lot of financial resources in goaltending, so there’s little reason to think they’re doing anything but going with some sort of Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov tandem. If they add a goaltender, its likely them bringing Andersen back.
Colorado has Mackenzie Blackwood under contract for four more seasons, but they ignored his contract and, correctly, rode the hot hand in Scott Wedgewood. Ultimately, Colorado needs to get more out of Blackwood, and with the Avalanche being as cap-strapped as they are, taking on Markstrom makes no sense for them.
Is Minnesota trading Jesper Wallstedt after he got the bulk of the playing time for the Wild this postseason? Wallstedt outplayed Filip Gustavsson, who is locked in at $6.8M AAV through 2031 and has a full NMC. Regardless, Minnesota has higher priorities this summer than taking on a Markstrom reclamation project…..mainly, what do they do at center and can they actually get Quinn Hughes to sign an extension?
Toronto has a logjam in net at the NHL level, as the new contract for Anthony Stolarz kicks in this season, Dennis Hildeby will require waivers beginning next season, and they just traded Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Flyers for Sam Ersson and Emil Andrae. I assume the thought process on their end is that Ersson is more likely to pass through waivers than Woll or Hildeby, and they view Andrae as a potential upgrade over Benoit. Regardless, I don’t see how adding Markstrom to the equation changes anything.
The “We’ll Only Consider This If You’ll Take Our Problem Off of Our Hands” Tier
Teams: Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights
Columbus has Elvis Merzlikins under contract for one more season, and he posted a sub .900 save percentage for the fourth consecutive season. Jet Greaves was the far better goaltender. Maybe there’s a universe where Columbus views Markstrom as an upgrade and Mehta is content saving $600,000 against the cap and not being on the hook for Markstrom in 2027-28 in exchange for Merzlikins. I wouldn’t be looking to make that trade if I were Columbus though.
Ottawa is interesting in that Linus Ullmark is their guy, but he had a bad season, he took a leave of absence to address his mental health, and he’s signed for three more years at $8.25M. I don’t think the Senators are trying to move on from him, nor do I think they’re about to take on Markstrom just because the Devils are calling around. I also don’t want to speculate on his particular situation as mental health is a delicate topic. I’ll leave it at this….if Ullmark feels he needs a fresh start outside of Ottawa, maybe the Senators are a potential option in terms of a trade partner. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re talking about a Markstrom for Ullmark swap, but I guess there’s always a chance there could be an opening in net in Ottawa.
Next is the Penguins, who certainly have the cap space, the apparent need (Arturs Silovs is an RFA and Stu Skinner is a UFA), and an aging core that just got a taste of the playoffs for the first time in the last few years. I think Kyle Dubas would at least consider taking on Markstrom if it was worth his while (such as bailing them out of the Ryan Graves contract), but I fail to see how that makes sense from a Devils perspective.
That brings us to Vancouver, a place Markstrom is obviously familiar with as he played for the Canucks from 2014-2020 before departing in free agency. Vancouver currently has $13M tied up in goaltending between the oft-injured Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen. Vancouver is rebuilding, so they might not be particularly inclined to get off of either of their less than ideal goaltending contracts.
Last but not least is Vegas, who is paying Adin Hill $6.25M for five more seasons. Carter Hart mostly played well for Vegas during their deep playoff run before falling apart in the Cup Final. I don’t doubt that Vegas would love to find a way out of the Adin Hill business, but I don’t see why that makes much sense for the Devils.
The “The Hockey World Might Think This is a Good Idea But I’m Not Sure Why You Think Markstrom Is a Good Fit For Us” Tier
Teams: Chicago Blackhawks, Utah Mammoth
The Blackhawks have Spencer Knight under contract for three more seasons, and they’d be smart to continue going with him rather than looking for a “quick fix” in net.
I get that pairing a veteran with a younger goaltender like Knight makes sense. I get that Chicago is looking to take a step forward this offseason after seeing San Jose and Anaheim pass them in the Western Conference hierarchy. And I get that Chicago has plenty of money to burn where taking on Markstrom would be no issue to them. What I don’t get is why Jacob Markstrom would sign up for that? I also think there are better uses for Chicago’s money than taking on a 36-year old goaltender who is in decline.
Utah is in a similar-ish spot, as they have Karel Vejmelma under contract for four more seasons, and I can understand them wanting a more reliable tandem goaltender than Vitek Vanecek, a pending UFA. But I think it makes more sense for them to target a younger goaltender that better fits the timeline of their group than acquiring a player who would be the oldest player on the roster once he gets there.
The “You Forgot About Arguably the Best Goaltender In the World, Who Is Also a Franchise Goaltender Being Paid Handsomely For A Long Time” Tier
Team: Winnipeg Jets
No, I didn’t forget about Connor Hellebuyck.
I do think there could potentially be an opening in Winnipeg coming soon. Connor Hellebuyck is clearly not happy about the direction of the Jets organization after this past season, and after getting a taste of success being a key member of the US Men’s Hockey Team that won the gold medal at the Olympics this year, it shouldn’t be surprising if he wants to get to a team with a better chance of winning a Stanley Cup than the Jets do in the next few years.
If the Jets shop Hellebuyck, he’ll be far and away the most desireable goaltender on the market this summer. And if they move him, it does create a vacancy. Perhaps there’s a universe where the Jets fancy themselves on being competitive again next season and they convince themselves that Markstrom is worth taking a chance on. Maybe there’s a universe where the Jets, Devils, and Panthers connect on a three-team deal that sends Hellebuyck to Florida and Markstrom to Winnipeg, assuming he wants to go there.
The “Markstrom Might Actually Be an Upgrade, So We’ll Consider It” Tier
Teams: Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers
In my opinion, the three teams that make the most sense in terms of being a Markstrom destination are the Red Wings, Oilers, and Panthers.
Starting with Detroit, they appear to be the right combination of desperate (ten seasons of playoff-less hockey in Detroit and counting) and having a potential need, with John Gibson under contract for just one more season and Steve Yzerman probably not having the upmost confidence in Sebastian Cossa’s ability to step in and perform at the NHL level. Detroit has plenty of recent history when it comes to bringing in older goaltenders, as Cam Talbot just finished a two-year deal with the Red Wings. Markstrom landing in Detroit is likely contingent on whether or not they hold on to Dylan Larkin, as there’s no point in acquiring a 36-year old goaltender if you’re trading Larkin away. And of course, Markstrom would have to want to go to Detroit which complicates matters. But I could see the Red Wings having interest.
Speaking of desperation, perhaps no team is more desperate to win right now than the Edmonton Oilers. Everybody in Edmonton is on the clock, with Connor McDavid having two years remaining on his deal, and Edmonton flamed out of the postseason thanks in part to Tristan Jarry’s and Connor Ingram’s inability to keep the puck out of the net. Edmonton doesn’t have a lot of tradable assets, which probably makes them an ideal trading partner in this scenario as Markstrom likely would not command a large return. As long as any deal doesn’t require the Devils to take back Tristan Jarry or Darnell Nurse, the Devils should be willing to take little to nothing from the Oilers in order to get out of the Markstrom business.
Last but not least is Florida, where Sergei Bobrovsky just finished the massive seven-year deal he signed there as a free agent. That deal saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, but ultimately was worth every penny the Panthers paid as Bobrovsky was a key member of two championship clubs in South Florida. That said, Bobrovsky is coming off of the worst year of his career and he turns 38 this fall, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Panthers go in a different direction in net.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that Markstrom is much of an upgrade given the season he’s coming off of. But there is an opening there, and I’m sure Sunny Mehta and Bill Zito keep in touch now that Mehta is the Devils GM. And I don’t think you’d need to do a lot of arm twisting to convince Markstrom to go to Florida, the place where he began his NHL career. Would you like to go to a proven Cup contender, play golf on your off days in December, and keep more of your money? I would think he would.
Final Thoughts
I still think a Markstrom trade at this time is unlikely, but the fact that Mehta is doing due diligence and gauging what the market is is a positive sign. The Devils can get .883 save percentage and -11 goals saved above expected goaltending from a lot of different sources, but they shouldn’t have to pay $6M for it for two more years. You can get that level of goaltending for 1/3 of the price, and we should be trying to do better than that anyways.
It’s a positive sign that Mehta identified goaltending as one of the problems with the Devils and is at least attempting to take steps towards addressing it. The dismissal of Dave Rogalski is a good start, but Rogalski, as his defenders love to tell me, wasn’t the one actually putting on the pads and playing the games. They could stand to get better performance between the pipes. And while this article doesn’t identify potential solutions to that problem, moving on from one of the biggest mistakes of the previous regime is a step in the right direction.
I would guess the most likely trade partners, if a trade were to come to fruition, are Edmonton and Florida. Edmonton is the right combination of desperate and organizational need, and they seem like the type of organization that remembers all too well how many times Jacob Markstrom frustrated them on any given night when he was playing for the rival Calgary Flames. As for Florida, they probably don’t have the trade assets to go all-in on someone like Connor Hellebuyck. If they don’t want to run it back with Bobrovsky, they’re going to have to turn somewhere for an experienced netminder with the roster that they have.
