Don’t be surprised if the Calgary Flames trade Jacob Markstrom this summer after coming close to doing just that in the lead-up to the 2024 trade deadline.
Speaking on Sunday’s episode of 32 Thoughts – The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided an update on Markstrom, who has two years left on his deal at a $6 million cap hit and a full no-movement clause.
Friedman connected Markstrom to three teams — the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators — but also suggested that “anybody looking for a goalie” has some level of interest in the 34-year-old puck-stopper.
Here’s a clip of Friedman talking to co-host Jeff Marek about Markstrom on Sunday’s episode, followed by a transcript of their conversation.
Jeff Marek: The one thing that everybody wants as well, one thing everybody — well, a lot of teams, anyhow — is looking for is net-minding. So much of the conversation there has, for the past six months, I suppose, maybe longer, revolved around Jacob Markstrom and the Calgary Flames. Is there a latest on Jacob Markstrom and the Calgary Flames?
Elliotte Friedman: I think the thing here is that it was so crazy during the season. Calgary is trying to do this as quietly as possible. That’s not going to be easy. I mean, good luck with that at this time of the year. […] But they just know what a rollercoaster it was for everybody involved, including the player and themselves, and I think they’re really, really trying to avoid it. But there’s definitely something going on — I mean, New Jersey, Fitzgerald’s on record as saying he will consider moving his 10th overall pick, and I know a lot of people are looking at in goal.
A couple of other teams I wonder about there, too, anybody looking for a goalie, but a couple of teams I wonder about: Toronto, and I know deals with Toronto and Calgary are kind of complicated, but the GM in Toronto is the guy who signed Markstrom in Calgary and, just on paper, a Markstrom-[Joseph] Woll combination is a pretty good combination. So, I look at that and I say, ‘I could see why a team like Toronto would be interested in that, potentially.’ And the other team that I think is in on almost every goalie conversation is Ottawa. Now, I don’t know how Markstrom feels about that, but I was told every conversation that involves a goalie, you have to have Ottawa around it. Now, the thing about Markstrom is trading for him, he’s basically a two times $6 [million] player you’re trading for, and if your choice is trading for a goalie, especially him with that contract, or going out and signing someone in free agency that might be a bigger number, you’re very happy to take [Markstrom]. So I can understand why there’d be a lot of interest in Markstrom, but obviously a lot of people are suspecting New Jersey and there’s a few teams that suspect Toronto and Ottawa.
Markstrom posted a 23-23-2 record and a .905 save percentage in 48 games with the Flames during the 2023-24 regular season. The Gävle, Sweden product has spent the last four seasons in Calgary after signing with the team in 2020.
The Florida Panthers originally selected Markstrom in the second round (No. 31 overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. Through 483 games over parts of 14 NHL seasons with the Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, and Flames, Markstrom has racked up a 215-196-57 record to go along with 20 shutouts and a .909 save percentage.