On Wednesday around noon, it was reported that the Calgary Flames had traded goalie Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils. The trade was being finalized, per Pierre LeBrun, who however also noted a concerning detail in the transaction, stating that “not everyone involved has been informed yet.”
We all remember how poor Marc-Andre Fleury had found out he was traded by the Vegas Golden Knights to the Chicago Blackhawks on social media a few summers ago.
I sincerely hope it is not the case for Markstrom, or any one else involved in this trade.
Markstrom is currently in the final two years of a six year contract that carries an average annual value and cap hit of $6 million per season, and he is still owed $12,000,000 in salary. In that deal, the netminder holds a no-trade clause, which means he had to agree to be moved to Jersey.
There were talks that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators were interested in acquiring the goalie, though the Devils had been in the mix for months.
In 48 games this season in Calgary, Markstrom posted a .905 save percentage as the Flames missed the playoffs.
Finally the transaction was finalized with the confirmation that, in return the Flames receive 23-year-old defenseman Kevin Bahl and the Devils' first round pick in 2025, according to Darren Dreger. The first round pick is top-10 protected.
The Flames have retained 31.25% on his remaining contract which has two more years to facilitate the transaction.