Quite a few things went wrong for the New Jersey Devils last season as they missed the playoffs a year after a franchise record in wins during the 2022-2023 season. The biggest culprit was goaltending. You have to imagine if the Devils had even league average goaltending they could have at least squeezed into the playoffs as an Eastern Conference wild card.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald had “getting a starting goalie” high on his list of priorities this offseason. After hiring Sheldon Keefe to the head coaching vacancy it’s his most pressing need as the league heads towards this year’s draft. The Devils have the tenth overall pick, and we’re not saying the Devils are willing to move it for a goaltender, but Fitzgerald did say he wanted to go “big game hunting” for a net minder.
Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom was expected to be the best goaltender available at last year’s deadline until Calgary decided against moving him. Talks have reportedly resumed between New Jersey and Calgary for his services, among other teams such as the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames. Elliotte Friedman said in his latest “32 Thoughts” podcast that New Jersey is seen as the front runners, and Markstrom expected, and was frustrated not to, to be dealt to the Devils last trade deadline.
Here’s an interesting tidbit from last year that might link the two teams together. Last year, NHL.com asked famous goaltending legends who their favorite current goaltenders were. One of the ones they asked was of course Devils legend Martin Brodeur. Among his “top five current goalies” Brodeur names, Markstrom was included in that last. The other four Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers, Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Brodeur currently works in the Devils front office as Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. While the titles of “assistant general manager” fall to Dan MacKinnon and Kate Madigan, there’s no doubt Brodeur has Fitzgerald’s ear. The opinion of their franchise legend turned part decision maker is no doubt values, appreciated and respected. If Brodeur was willing to publicly name Markstrom one of his favorite goaltenders while the Devils were looking to make a deal, imagine what kind of glowing recommendation he gave to Fitzgerald and company.
While we imagine Fitzgerald would seriously consider Brodeur’s advice, there’s other members of the team whose decision might matter a bit more. In Keefe’s introductory press conference Fitzgerald said Keefe’s input on roster decision was “important to him” but didn’t elaborate further on what that meant for the team’s goaltending search. The Devils tweeted a draft profile on a potential goalie, Mikhail Yegorov, to take with the number 10 overall pick as well.
Fitzgerald would also want to talk with his goalie coach. Dave Rogalski was confirmed to be staying with the team with the hiring of assistant coach Jeremy Colliton on Tuesday. Rogalski has gotten flak from fans for the Devils lack of success in net, but it’s not entirely his fault when names in the Devils crease the past few seasons have included the likes of Jon Gillies, Andrew Hammond and the often injured Mackenzie Blackwood. Rogalski is also reportedly close with Brodeur.
It’s not a done deal, but the betting odds seems to think Markstrom will be wearing a different red colored hockey jersey this season. Markstrom has two years, including this season, remaining on his deal that pays him $6 million average annual value. At 34 years old New Jersey would have to make a serious decision about if and how long to extend him. After some extended development, 2023 playoffs first round phenom Akira Schmid might start to look like the goalie that shut the Rangers out twice that series and be ready to take the crease.