The New Jersey Devils fix their goaltending issue, add Jacob Markstrom

The New Jersey Devils made a big move on Wednesday, trading for Calgary Flames star goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

The Devils finished outside of the playoff picture this past season with a record of 38-39-5. The team used five different goaltenders over the course of the season, Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws, Jake Allen, Akira Schmid and Kaapo Kahkonen.

Vanecek led the team in games played, putting up just a .890 save percentage in that time. In all, the five goalies combined for a goals against average of 3.12 and a save percentage of just .896.

The New Jersey Devils addressed a critical need by adding Jacob Markstrom.

Goaltending has not been the Devils strong point the past few seasons, adding Markstrom addresses that. Markstrom is a former Vezina trophy finalist. The 34 year-old goaltender has played in the NHL for 14 seasons and is just a few years removed from registering a .922 save percentage and a goals against average of just 2.22, the best in his career.

Markstrom might not be the youngest goaltender in the league, but at 34 with two years remaining on his current deal the Devils will be in a good spot.

As apart of the trade the Flames received defenseman Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first-round pick. The pick is top-10 protected, but with the addition of Markstrom hopefully the Devils won't be drafting anywhere near the top ten in 2025.

Bahl, 23, had one goal and 11 points in 82 games this past season. The Devils had previously acquired Bahl in 2019 as apart of the Taylor Hall trade. While the young defenseman has shown promise, the Devils have a blue line that is already crowded enough with guys like John Marino, Jonas Siegenthaler, Kurtis MacDermid, Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec and Cal Foote.

At 6'6" Markstrom can use his size to his advantage in the net. The Flames relied heavily on the netminder in the past and now the Devils will hope to rely on him to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.