New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald admitted he wanted to go big-fish hunting this summer and Fitzgerald has done exactly that.
The Devils have acquired goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, defenseman Kevin Bahl and a top 10 protected 2025 first-round pick are heading to Calgary, and the Flames are retaining 30 percent on Markstrom’s $6 million cap hit.
Trade Details:
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 19, 2024
To #njdevils: G Jacob Markstrom
To #Flames: NJD 2025 1st Round Pick*, D Kevin Bahl#Flames are retaining 30% on Markstrom, knocking Markstrom down to $4 mil AAV. CGY avoids July 1 SB.
*Pick is Top 10 protected.
Markstrom waived his 'no-trade' clause.
Travis Yost of TSN was the first to report the trade as the Flames and Devils have been in contact for months regarding the deal and it’s finally made its way to the finish line. Markstrom is coming off a 23-23-2 season along with posting a 2.78 goals against average and .905 save percentage. He has two seasons left on his contract at $6 million and waived his no-movement clause to join the Devils organization.
Markstrom now pairs up with Jake Allen in New Jersey as Fitzgerald has finally built the veteran tandem he’s been craving since he took over GM duties.
As for Flames general manager Craig Conroy, he made it very clear recently that Markstrom never asked for a trade out of Calgary and has been nothing but professional throughout this process. A process that went public this past season, which was something Markstrom was not happy about.
The Flames move ahead with Daniel Vladar and Dustin Wolf in their crease heading into next season as they look for Wolf to find his game at the NHL level with some more consistent minutes.
As for the Devils, Fitzgerald continues to make drastic changes in New Jersey after a disappointing 2023-24 season. Sheldon Keefe is their new bench boss and now Keefe has a veteran #1 netminder and some serious depth in net.
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