New Jersey Devils acquire Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom

The New Jersey Devils acquired Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom on Wednesday in exchange for 23-year-old defenseman Kevin Bahl and a top-10 protected draft pick in the 2025 first round. The Devils had been involved in trade rumors involving a goaltender, with Markstrom and Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark leading the way. The Flames get a young defenseman and a first-round pick to help with what appears to be some kind of rebuilding effort.

Markstrom has two years left on his contract, which will pay the 34-year-old $6 million per season. The Flames retain 30 percent, bringing New Jersey’s annual salary to $4 million. The 6-foot-2 goaltender was 23-23-2 with two shutouts during the 2023-24 season and posted a 2.78 goals-against average with a .905 save percentage. The 2008 second-round pick has played 485 NHL regular season games with a 215-196-57 record and finished second in the Vezina Trophy voting following the 2021-2022 season.

A second-round pick of the Devils in 2018, Bahl played 82 games during the 2023-2024 season with one goal and 10 assists, and a +1 rating. Bahl also recorded 103 blocked shots and 151 hits. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound left-shot defenseman averaged 17:24 of ice time with New Jersey.

Markstrom waived his no-trade clause to allow the trade and New Jersey retains the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft.