Jacob Markstrom's time with the Calgary Flames may be coming to an end soon. The 34-year-old goalie has been critical of Calgary's brass before for their handling of past trade talks, which couldn't get a deal done. New reporting suggests that Markstrom could be moved this offseason.
According to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun, the Calgary Flames have resumed trade talks with the New Jersey Devils related to Jacob Markstrom.
“Those conversations with the Flames have taken up again,” LeBrun said Wednesday. “We know that those two teams almost had a deal done before the trade deadline earlier this season before March 8. It fell apart, but the Devils remain interested in Jacob Markstrom and as importantly, Jacob Markstrom has a full no-move, but my understanding is he's willing to go to New Jersey.”
One holdup that prevented a trade from happening in March was Calgary's unwillingness to retain any of Markstrom's salary. He has a $6 million cap hit for the next two seasons.
This creates the possibility that another team interested in Markstrom could theoretically swoop in and acquire him along with his contract.
“There are other teams now that weren't there on Markstrom before the trade deadline that have now entered the picture,” LeBrun explained. “The Flames are getting calls from multiple teams on Markstrom, not just from the Devils… At this point in time, there's still a difference of opinion on the return, on what it should cost the Devils to get Jacob Markstrom out of Calgary and the Flames are willing to be patient in terms of having a team meet their price.”
Markstrom finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 23-23-2, a 0.905 save percentage, and a 2.78 goals-against average. These figures fall in line with his career stats accumulated over 482 career games.
Jacob Markstrom's end-of-season comments cast doubt on a future with the Calgary Flames
It is no surprise that trade talks have resumed. Markstrom made it pretty clear in his remarks at the end of the season that he would like to play somewhere else in 2024.
Markstrom was non-committal when asked about his future back in April.
“I don’t know,” the star goaltender said when asked where he saw himself next season, per TSN's Salim Valji. “What I do know is I love winning hockey games. I think that’s the competitive side of me. Every time I lace up the skates, that’s something I want – to win hockey games.”
These comments suggest that winning won't happen in Calgary. The Flames have finished in 5th place in their division two years in a row, missing the playoffs both times. The 34-year-old does not have the patience for another retool in Calgary, he wants to get to somewhere he has a chance to win right away.
Flames general manager Craig Conroy did not sound optimistic about Markstrom's future in Calgary following the possible deal to the Devils at the trade deadline.
“Time will tell,” Conroy said when asked about Markstrom’s future, per Valji. “Marky explained where he was at and I talked to him about where we were at. It was cordial. It was good. He was a great pro.”
It will be interesting to see what transpires around Markstrom later this summer. Flames fans will want closure on the matter one way or the other.
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