The New Jersey Devils have a situation in net. Let me know if you’ve heard this before. Since Martin Brodeur retired in 2015, the Devils have dealt with Cory Schneider’s ailing hip, Keith Kinkaid’s rise and fall, Mackenzie Blackwood’s stop and go, Corey Crawford’s retirement, losing Eric Comrie for Aaron Dell, Jonathan Bernier’s career-ending injury, the Andrew Hammond addition, whatever Jon Gillies and the rest of the 2021-22 season was, losing Scott Wedgewood for nothing, Vitek Vanecek losing himself in the playoffs, Akira Schmid losing himself in the regular season, Nico Daws’s ruined development, the Jake Allen blocked trade by the player, the Jacob Markstrom blocked trade by the Flames’ owner, finally getting Allen and Markstrom in the room, and then, Markstrom being one of the worst goalies in the league last season.
This has been a saga that’s never ending. Now, Sunny Mehta is coming in and trying to clean up this mess. Tom Fitzgerald signed Jacob Markstrom to a two-year deal in the middle of last season. There were already issues, but the team’s president still went through with the deal, which pays him $6 million per season for the next two years.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported the Devils are officially gauging the market for Jacob Markstrom. That’s not a surprise. Mehta has to have seen the mess Markstrom made of last season, but he’s been bad in the past and has bounced back. A team might be able to talk themselves into bringing him on as a buy-low candidate. The Devils would likely have to retain some salary or take a bad salary back, but there’s going to be a market of some kind of Markstrom.
So, who might be open to acquiring the veteran goalie?
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in an interesting place. They acquired the number-one overall pick, saving their 2026 draft pick after a dreadful season. They owed picks to the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, but now, that’s been kicked down the road. With the impending addition of Gavin McKenna, the Leafs should look to bounce back quickly.
However, the Leafs have had an issue with their goalie staying healthy. We could see them trying to replace Anthony Stolarz with a more reliable option. Markstrom had a rough season, but he has stayed healthy for most of his career. Pairing him as the backup to Joseph Woll could put the Leafs in a better position despite Markstrom’s struggles. Markstrom has also stepped up in the playoffs, which will interest the Leafs. New GM John Chayka could see what Markstrom has been analytically before and target him to be their backup.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks seem to be in a never-ending rebuild. Despite picking in the top three in four of the last seven NHL Drafts, the Blackhawks are once again in the top five after another lost season. Connor Bedard looked better, but he didn’t take the same leap that a player like Macklin Celebrini took last season. However, they hope to have some sort of foundation to build a winner.
Markstrom won’t go to Chicago and win, but maybe he can go to Chicago and lead. Markstrom has been around the block for a long time. He can go to the Blackhawks and be a mentor to Spencer Knight. They do have Arvid Soderblom, but that’s not going to stop them from making a move like this. The Devils probably add to this deal to give up some draft capital, but if it’s not a first-round pick, it’s probably worth it.
Detroit Red Wings
We talked about it earlier when discussing a Dylan Larkin trade, but we do think there’s a John Gibson-Jacon Markstrom swap that makes sense. Obviously, the Devils would be adding to make that deal happen. If Larkin leaves and the Red Wings don’t get excess value on the deal, they are probably going to go backwards before going forward.
Giving them Markstrom allows them to have another veteran starter while Sebastian Cossa develops. If Cossa is ready to take the starter’s role, then he has that chance. If not, Markstrom can physically play 50-60 games in a season.
At the end of the day, Markstrom might be a smart addition for a team. He’s had terrible seasons before. Analytically, Markstrom’s 2022-23 season was worse than his 2025-26 season. Maybe a team can get a league average goalie for cheap, with the Devils on the hook for part of the contract or selling his contract with compensation attached.
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