Perhaps the Calgary Flames shouldn’t be so quick to trade Jacob Markstrom. The 34-year-old’s name was involved heavily in discussions with the New Jersey Devils late last week, and continues to have speculation swirl around him.
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There is certainly some validity to moving Markstrom, as the Flames current roster is not one capable of competing for a Stanley Cup. The 2021-22 Vezina Trophy runner up is having another phenomenal season, and would net a great return. That said, if general manager Craig Conroy does indeed choose to move him, there could be some serious struggles in the immediate future for his team.
Wolf Doesn’t Look NHL Ready
A big part of why some fans want Markstrom moved is to create a path for Dustin Wolf to become a regular on the Flames’ roster. The 22-year-old is one of the most exciting prospects the organization has had in some time, as he has won the goalie of the year award in each of his two AHL seasons and is putting up elite numbers once again in 2023-24.
The main critique against Wolf is his size. His 6-foot, 166-pound frame has been a talking point surrounding him for years, even before he began playing in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips. It resulted in him falling to the seventh round of the 2019 Entry Draft, and had many suggesting he wouldn’t be able to cut it in professional hockey. The netminder has continued to prove critics wrong, but many critics still remain and there are doubts on whether he can succeed at the NHL level.
Wolf will absolutely be given the opportunity to show he can play in the NHL, though he is certainly still a question mark. The early results haven’t been promising, as he has a 1-3-1 record, 3.91 goals against average (GAA) along with a .871 save percentage (SV%) in six NHL appearances this season.
Wolf’s latest start, which came on Feb. 15 against the San Jose Sharks, was concerning. He allowed six goals on 31 shots, several of which shouldn’t have gotten past him. Had Markstrom gotten the start, there is a good chance the Flames would have walked away with two points instead of a 6-3 loss.
Wolf’s early struggles are what makes trading Markstrom so daunting. There remains a chance he is never able to turn into an NHL starter like everyone has been hoping, and without Markstrom, the Flames could be forced to play through some ugly goaltending. Dan Vladar hasn’t given fans much of a reason to be confident that he can step up to the plate if needed, as he owns a 2.95 GAA and a .896 SV% through 71 career games (though he does have a 36-21-10 record.)
Goaltending is NHL’s Most Important Position
While the Flames have done a good job at stockpiling some solid young talent, none of that will matter if they don’t have a good goaltender. We often see in the NHL that a great goalie can carry an underwhelming roster, but a good roster with a weak goaltender rarely, if ever, has success.
If the Flames were to trade Markstrom and Wolf doesn’t wind up panning out, it could take years for Conroy to find a legitimate starting goalie. Fans will remember how much the Flames struggled to do that in the post-Miikka-Kiprusoff era, as they never had a high-calibre starter until they were able to sign Markstrom as a free agent.
The sample size Wolf has had at the NHL level is very small, so it is unfair to suggest he won’t work out. As mentioned, he has proven his detractors wrong at every level through his career so far, and he could very well end up doing so in the NHL. It is impossible to ignore the risk, however, and the pressure that will come of being the expected number one should Markstrom be traded is a lot to ask from the young and inexperienced netminder.