“I think the Devils and Flames were pretty far down the track on Markstrom’s deal. I think it did get to his level to approve it, I think there were no issues there, and I think somehow, somewhere along the way, that trade was scuttled. Don’t know how, don’t know why, but they were pretty close to nailing it down. You would’ve seen Jacob Markstrom become a New Jersey Devil I think at some point last week.

Again, I don’t know what happened, but there was a lot going on and I guess the next thing for me when it comes to answering the Markstrom question, is one: Can this be revisited? Probably not based on the way it played out. And two: Now what? Is there another team that would be willing to step up and pay what would be a pretty significant price in order for Calgary to reshape their goaltending scenario. They have to do it anyway, because they have (Dustin) Wolf.

For New Jersey, the key part of getting Markstrom is not just that he’s played really well, but that he has term. What New Jersey needs, really more than anything, is stability. They need to nail down their goalie situation, and just set it and forget it, not talk about it the next couple years. That’s what Markstrom would’ve provided, and that’s why he’s such an attractive option. How many other teams are really in the market for that kind of term?”