Instant Analysis - Jacob Markstrom Traded To New Jersey Devils

Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde and Jesse Blake discuss the deal that saw Jacob Markstorm traded to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Kevin Bahl and a 1st-round pick.
For general inquiries email: [e-mail]
Reach out to www.sdpn.ca/sales to connect with our sales team and discuss the opportunity to integrate your brand within our content!

[@noorkidwai]

Only three starting goalies aged 30 or older have been traded for 1sts in the last 15 years: - Markstrom to NJ for 1st, Bahl - Kuemper to COL for 1st, 3rd, Timmins - Miller and Ott to STL for 1st, 3rd, Halak, Stewart, Carrier Markstrom was the oldest at the time of his trade. I got no idea what these guys were expecting in a return for markstrom. If a gm gave up a 10 overall pick for a guy who will be 35 mid season that should be a firable offence. This seems like a very fair trade to me

[@logand3957]

Completely agree. I’ll add that if I were the Devils, I would have targeted Ullmark and Saros much more than Markstrom because they can be effective much longer. This is a very short term fix and doesn’t seem to make that much sense, even if the other deals would have costed more

[@jeffgibeau1424]

⁠@@logand3957 Also agree that it’s a fair trade. I’m sure they did ask about Ullmark and Saros, but that price would be very high. Also NJ has three goalie prospects in their system that they are high on. Short term is what they are looking for and getting Marky at a 4mil cap hit allows NJ to go after a piece or two to help their defence.

[@logand3957]

@@jeffgibeau1424 eh we’ll see how reliable those two are when given more time to develop. I’m not sold, obviously, and don’t see the point of wasting years of this core on aging goalies

[@martin9202]

@@logand3957 Devils believe in Schmid and Daws as. their future tandem. They wanna give them full season in Utica to share net and one of them will be Markstrom's backup next year. After Allen contract expires. Of course, plans may change if it doesn't work... (that's why they were carefully utilised last season so they don't have to pass waivers)...

[@beardymcj2026]

yeah, and Cory Schneider, who was a 1st round pick and was considered one of, if not the best young goalies in the league, was traded for the 9th overall. They were never getting the 10th pick for Markstrom. Maybe the Devils trade him for Saros or Ulmark? They def trade him, and something else, for Askarov, but not Markstrom. This seemed like fair value. I also have no clue why they're so surprised and underwhelmed

[@pgccanadian7982]

I usually dont comment, but its insane to me rhe takes i heard in this video. The flames signaled the start of the rebuild way before the trading of markstrom. The dominos all started with zadorov at the begining of the season. Markstrom is an aging goalie who yes just had a bounce back year but the year before had arguably the worst season in his career. Getting a first and a young heavy dman who slots in the lineup immediate is a big win in that trade. I undertsand you guys cover the leafs majority of the time but takes like this make me question if you guys pay attention to the rest of the league at all

[@dumbestoyster]

Toronto mouth pieces trying to talk like they know what going on in the West

[@ariea.devalois1564]

I'm very glad Jesse is not a GM. The 2025 draft is deeper than the 24 draft. The Flames now have 3 1s and 3 2s. And a shut down 23 y/o defenseman to play in front of the rookie Dustin Wolf and the recovering Dan Vladar. This is a fine return considering the Flames only had ONE trade partner, because Markstrom would only waive the ntc for Jersey. Also, he is 35. Jesse is just flat wrong. Markstrom also missed time with 3 injuries and one illness last season. He was great for the Flames, but he is not a sure thing anymore. And another thing that isn't on Conroy: Montreal retained on Jake Allen. The Devils have to pay Markstrom 4 million. Your Conroy mockery is just ridiculous.

[@EricQmarvelous]

Markstrom bringing in a first and an everyday NHL defenceman seems like a good haul to me. You don’t have to pay his signing bonus, and you can now continue your retool with an extra 4 million in space. I don’t see Conroy as a fool for this deal, especially seeing how many picks he has accrued. I wish my senators could have gotten such value for their players when they held their fire sale.

[@ramprat5812]

lol it’s so weird to me how you guys have such a huge hate on for the flames and yet you have literally no idea what’s happening with the team. Obviously they’re rebuilding even if they won’t admit it, they’ve traded most of their core from the beginning of last season and odds are that’ll continue. Also the only way the flames even have a chance to lose their first round pick next year is if Florida is in draft lottery next year which feels pretty unlikely imo. Top level analysis as always…

[@patrickgoulet8170]

Old man yelling into wind... Who even are these guys? You should be mad at yourself for watching the video not at the guys that are basically fans talking about fan stuff.

[@EarthwormJake]

This was a baffling misunderstanding of the Flames situation, and a complete lack of knowledge on the conditions of the pick. Good grief - slap your heads.

[@thechuaman2]

don't forget, that 3rd rd 2021 pick acquired by the devils turned into Siegenthaler via a trade w the caps

[@agent00puffball]

As a Flames fan I think this is as good of a return as you could reasonably expect. Markstrom is 34 and the Flames need to bring in Wolf full time this year. A 1st and a young everyday NHL defenseman is a completely fair deal.

[@nicholasrader9958]

The Devils are spending 6M on the goal tandem and need a 2 year bridge deal for Mercer. That leaves 12-13 million for a mercenary top 6 F and a top 4 LHD. Rework the 4th line a bit with Lazar and we cooking

[@jayfray4095]

Yeah Steve, you’re right. The Calgary Flames did lose one of their first round picks in 2025 to Montreal to take Sean Monahan. The best part is it was Brad Treliving who made that idiotic trade. So laugh all you want Steve, but you’re soon going to feel the same pain and suffering Flames fans experienced with Brad at the helm. That is if you haven’t already. Good luck with that 😉

[@dumdawgpro]

the devils best tandem was broduer opposite of broduer. and thn 7 or so games from the #3

[@ethansmith7997]

I don't hate this at all as a Flames fan. Is it a little underwhelming? Sure. Not a flashy trade. But you get a 1st for an 34 year old goaltender who realistically doesn't fit the timeline of this organization given that he has two years left and a soured relationship from the trade deadline. Yes it's a late first but a first round pick is still a first round pick. With good scouting that can become a gem, or as they mentioned flip it for more immediate impact. Kevin Bahl is a bit unknown, but clearly they like what he brings and if you can develop him into a second or third line dman who spends a ten year career on our blueline, that's good as well. Not to mention the cap space freed up and most importantly, clearing the way for Dustin Wolf to take the net. I don't think that can be understated, the opportunity to get him his experience in the NHL and develop him into the goalie they think he can be for this team.

[@UzumakiNaruto_]

I'd be super happy if I were a Flames fan. You're getting potentially a decently high 1st round pick for an old goalie who has never been consistently good during his career while getting rid of most his contract too.

[@lankancheetah]

Best devils tandem was Clemmensen / Brodeur 2008/09. Brodeur’s only serious injury and Clemmensen kept the Devils in the playoffs while he was out.

[@RobbieG17]

Keefe is gonna win a cup in Jersey before the Leafs even make it to the third round 😂

[@patrickgoulet8170]

Because Timo Meier is so awesome with his 52 points and -28?

[@NJDevilsF4N]

@@patrickgoulet8170 when Ruff was fired he was on a 60 goal pace from march until the end of the season and he was actually played on his correct wing.... and then he got surgery in the offseason. obviously not saying he puts up 60 but if he was on that pace for slightly more than a month while playing with an injury then he's going to have a monster season next year also who looks at +/- especially in an admittedly awful season goaltending & injury wise

[@RobbieG17]

@@patrickgoulet8170oh right, he’s obviously their best player, how silly of me

[@devilsandchargersfan385]

He had like two torn mcls and another nagging injury all year. He still scored like 25 goals

[@TRUMPONTHEGO]

If that happened I'd watch the devils instead 😂

[@greglemieux2644]

Hey Marty, you’re the better goalie. No Jacob, you’re the better goalie

[@PunkerWithABoner]

The Devils made 240M in revenues in the 2022-2023 season. One whole million more than the Bruins.

[@Cornellforever]

It is not ridiculous Jesse. Marky is almost 35 lol. Great trade for Calgary..

[@iainmore3961]

Off Topic. RIP Donald Oddball Sutherland.

[@pretzelhunt]

"You can call me 'X'...." R.I.P.

[@TMJ32]

25th overall in 2026 might be better than 10th in 2025.

[@jeffgibeau1424]

I agree if you meant the 2025 draft is shaping up to be quite a bit deeper than the 2024 draft.

[@donaldhaskett9241]

Only 1 ball? I'd think they deserve two for making that trade happen.

[@MrGnarVar]

Fun fact, that 3rd rounder in the Hall trade was packed with a 2nd to the Caps for Siegs. He was great up until last year so poing for a bounce back

[@clarke4222]

I think everyone is misinterpreting what Markstrom is……. Jake Allen and Markstrom are both 1990’s one has played 429 career games, the other 483, one has a career 2.76 gaa the other 2.73 and one has a .907 sv% career average and the other is .909. So for Allen to cost a 3rd pick for 1.5 years of control and Markstom to cost a 1st plus a 23 y/o 6’6 defenceman who will log 17:30 toi for 2 years doesn’t add up to me.

[@stug5041]

Fair trade without the salary retention. The retention has value and that’s where Calgary could’ve got a bit more

[@SmurfRockRune]

"Instant"

[@forgottenfamily]

They can't believe Calgary is clearly signaling a punt and then the read the roster and complain about how thin the roster is. The money doesn't matter, the dearth of talent does. And everyone overrates the value of a 6M goaltender when they can easily turn into Jack Campbell or Matt Murray or Petr Mrazek.

[@AndGonzilla]

If you thought the 10OA was available for Markstrom.... yikes.

[@Regurgitator85]

Let's gooooo devilsssss!!!

[@brendanwoerner3352]

Whoever that commentator saying why didn’t they get the 10th overall pick, it’s because Fitzgerald was not going to waste a 10th overall pick on the 34 he old goaltender.

[@hammerpounder]

I'm kinda getting to the point where I want to cheer for Dubas and Keefe rather than the Leafs. Lol!

[@patrickgoulet8170]

Dubas signed really awful contracts and shanahan let him, idk how shanahan still has a job...

[@UzumakiNaruto_]

@@patrickgoulet8170 How many bad contracts did Dubas really sign players to? Only Marner was slightly overpaid out of our core.

Ha! I had already checked CapFriendly before seeing this video thumbnail.

[@UzumakiNaruto_]

Still sad to hear about CapFriendly going down. Best resource on the internet for anyone who's looking for a ton of hockey info all in one place. ☹🙁😪😭😢

[@jonathanyi2330]

Coleman and Sharny worked out for Calgary.

[@isaiaholiveras3980]

Good for him 25🎉starting nu

[@isaiaholiveras3980]

Number❤300

[@wbj2000]

The Flames are planning on a new arena foe 2028 ... so they might be punting until then.

[@brettcampbell4323]

Dwayne rolson just out of your window

[@fakedeath13]

Devils are going to win the next eleven Stanley Cups don't ask me how I know

[@user-nh4je9ul7f]

Not better than Brodeur lol he was legend in goal.

[@SuperEddy72]

Keefe is next ex leaf to win a cup watch

[@logand3957]

Nah not on this trade. Markstrom will be 35 and then Devils still have some work to do. I think this analysis oddly overhyped a fair trade where the devils could have found a better goalie

[@Ottotherepoman1]

YAH, devils aren't going to be that great this year, maybe 90 points

[@xFenix1016x]

I know the flames had to do something or their players were gonna walk for nothing but man does that trade with florida look really really bad now

[@patrickgoulet8170]

I mean that's easy to say but what was the alternative? Getting absolutely nothing?

[@ariea.devalois1564]

The Tkàchuk trade is fine. The Huberdeau contract came later and was a mistake, but the trade itself is fine. Weegar and Hubey are a good return for an asset that demanded to be moved, and had ntc. The trade with Florida that is catastrophicly bad is the Bennett trade.

[@Reapercrewgarage]

@@ariea.devalois1564I mean Bennett never played well for the flames they tried and tried to make it work it never really stuck he needed a change of scenery

[@martin9202]

It's interesting... In my opinion it's exactly opposite... I think Devils overpaid for Markstrom... He is 35 y/o very likely his performance will decline... (hopefully not) and Calgary needed to make room for Wolf... In my opinion it should've been first or Bahl+2nd not both... And of course not top 10 pick... Marks isn't worth 10th Overall pick ...

[@vipeholmskolan6052]

Devils to win the president...?

[@NJDevilsF4N]

meaningless trophy. cup or bust

[@vipeholmskolan6052]

@@NJDevilsF4N Winning the pres usually means hoisting the cup within a few years. I don't think the Devils will be ready for a rub all the way to the finals next season.

[@robpowers8978]

Devils should go after Rasmus Andersson. Consider using the #10 pick for half salary retained and a higher pick in return

[@MethodzBlem]

Jersey guranteed wont make playoffs, sheldon is way too soft for a team like that.

[@bowriver1]

salty leafs fans

[@isaiaholiveras3980]

Out

[@ed230]

Jersey will make the offs and get swept 1st round

[@ratedRblazin420]

Nah, the Devils aren't the Leafs when we make the playoffs we actually go far.

[@ed230]

@@ratedRblazin420 not with Keefe ur not

[@Southboundpachyderm]

Damn good for New Jersey. I woulda liked to have Markstrom in Colorado

[@testecalle3378]

Leafs would've given them more lol

[@steverobinson8771]

Devils fan here - after the season we've just had I absolutely love the Markstrom/Allen pair for 2 years, at a smidge over $6 million 😎 let's go Devils 😈🏒

[@user-sn8sw2vi8z]

Markstrom 👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👨‍🦳👎👎👎

[@EricQmarvelous]

Markstrom bringing in a first and an everyday NHL defenceman seems like a good haul to me. You don’t have to pay his signing bonus, and you can now continue your retool with an extra 4 million in space. I don’t see Conroy as a fool for this deal, especially seeing how many picks he has accrued. I wish my senators could have gotten such value for their players when they held their fire sale.

[@UzumakiNaruto_]

Markstrom bringing in a potentially pretty high 1st round pick alone is highway robbery. Dude has never been great outside of a few good stretches here and there and you have to take on his salary as well. I would be shocked if he's able to take the Devils far into the playoffs if they get there.

[@DammitIvaldi]

We're happy to get rid of Bahl. Yeah he's a big body but he doesnt play physical and he makes way too many mistakes.