The New Jersey Devils were desperate to fix their goaltending issue this offseason, and they paid the price it took to get Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. They sent a protected first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and young defenseman Kevin Bahl for Markstrom, with some of his salary covered for this season and next.
Up until now, it's been a fantastic trade for both sides. Dustin Wolf is in the Calder Trophy race as the Calgary Flames' goalie, and Markstrom has been everything the Devils asked for. He's even kept them in games while their offense is figuring itself out. Markstrom was red hot in January when the Devils needed him the most.
Unfortunately, all the good vibes in net ended when Markstrom suffered a scary-looking injury against the Boston Bruins on January 22nd. He ended up missing about six weeks, which was expected from his MCL sprain.
The Devils never felt compelled to force Markstrom to return before he was ready because Jake Allen was stellar in his absence. From January 22nd to March 3rd (the time Markstrom was sidelined), Allen had a .919 save percentage. According to Natural Stat Trick, he stopped 4.39 goals above average, good for sixth in the league. Astonishingly, Nico Daws actually ranked fourth in the league with 5.59 goals saved above average despite just three starts.
Since Markstrom’s return, Allen has only had one start while Markstrom has had three. Allen was dominant against the Philadelphia Flyers, stopping 23 of 24 shots in a 3-1 victory. Meanwhile, Markstrom has struggled. In his three starts since returning, Markstrom has an .829 save percentage.
The Devils haven’t always played well in front of him, but that’s still no excuse for numbers that low. It's too late in the season to be messing around with bad goalie starts. It might be time to make a hard but temporary choice.
Jake Allen is the hot hand, so he should be the starting New Jersey Devils goalie, for now
While the Devils did call on Markstrom against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a game they went on to win 5-3, Markstrom wasn't exactly himself in the game. He only had a .600 high-danger save percentage, stopping just three of five such shots against him. He also probably wants to have that third goal against back, something that's been a theme.
This isn't a demotion. We still expect Markstrom to be the starter in the playoffs, but it's understandable he may need some time to work back from a knee injury. Let him play a few lesser opponents while Allen gets the big guns. Then, once the calendar turns to April, give Markstrom the starts so he's ready in case the Devils make a run into May and June.