On June 19, the New Jersey Devils made the first massive trade of the 2024 offseason. They acquired 34-year-old stud goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames for defenseman Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected). With 31.25 percent retention on Markstrom’s contract by the Flames, his cap hit is just $4.125 million for the Devils.
The Devils, whose goaltending was a big reason why they missed the playoffs in 2023-24, got one of the best on the market in Markstrom. On the flip side, the Flames seem to be signaling that they are entering a true rebuild by getting rid of arguably their best player.
Are the Devils Stanley Cup Contenders?
The Devils, with an elite core of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, Luke Hughes, and others, seem to be true contenders now. They have a ton of youth throughout their roster and the upside to be one of the best teams in the NHL, especially now that they have their solution between the pipes.
New Jersey was seen as one of the favorites to win the Metropolitan Division in 2023-24 after making it to the second round of the postseason in 2023, but injuries combined with some of the worst goaltending in the league hurt them badly. Of the three netminders with the most starts with the Devils, the one who had the best overall numbers was Akira Schmid. On the season, he had a .895 save percentage (SV%), a 3.15 goals-against average (GAA), minus-3.8 goals saved above average (GSAA), and minus-3.0 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
With the Flames, Markstrom’s numbers were the complete opposite. In 48 starts, he had a .905 SV%, a 2.78 GAA, 2.3 GSAA, and 13.7 GSAx. Those first three stats are mostly due to Calgary’s struggles as a team, but his elite GSAx puts just how well he played into better context. He wasn’t in the greatest situation—that doesn’t change the fact that he was exceptional.
Now that the Devils have a legitimate starter instead of three struggling backups, they might be able to take that next step into contention. As long as they are healthy, this should be a good get for them. With a $4.125 million cap hit for the next two seasons, he is making more than reasonable money to top it all off.
They have the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft that they might want to shop, plus over $16 million to spend in the offseason. The Devils are in a very promising spot, and a team to really look out for in 2024-25.
Are the Flames Finally Rebuilding?
Calgary has sort of avoided a true rebuild over the past few decades, but it seems as though they are finally entering one. Bahl, 23, can be a good third-pairing defenseman for them, but he doesn’t seem to have an elite upside or anything. This was a move to get better in the future, and the Flames accomplished that.
With two first-round draft picks each in 2024, 2025, and 2026 including the ninth overall selection in 2024, the Flames have some pieces to work with. The bad part is that they might not have their first-round selection in 2025—it belongs to the Montreal Canadiens due to the Sean Monahan trade back in 2022, but that could change if some circumstances work their way.
Related: The Crazy Conditions of Canadiens’ 1st Round Pick From Calgary Flames
The Flames have some more pieces on their roster that they might consider trading if they are all-in on a rebuild. Seeing as they finished with the ninth-worst record in the NHL even with Markstrom, one would have to think that they could be even worse in 2024-25 and beyond without him.
Calgary doesn’t have the best prospect pool as it stands, so they will want to bolster that over the next few seasons. With players like Nazem Kadri, Andrew Mangiapane, Rasmus Andersson, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Blake Coleman, there are some attractive trade pieces on their roster. Is general manager (GM) Craig Conroy willing to commit to a full-scale rebuild?
The winner of this trade can’t exactly be determined right away, but the Devils and Flames should each be happy with what they got. The former might be a championship contender now, while the latter got a first-round pick for a veteran and might have an offseason filled with moves ahead.
