How should New Jersey Devils approach NHL Draft and NHL goaltenders?

There is much speculation about what the New Jersey Devils will do with the 10th-overall pick. Rumors have directly stated the Devils could be giving that pick up for a goaltender.

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2. Jacob Markstrom

He's good, he's bad, he's good, he's bad. He had an average year this season; last year, he had a .892 save percentage, which is just as bad as the goaltending that sunk the Devils this season, a fantastic .922 before that, then right back down to a mediocre .904. And for the one person who does not know it, he is already 34 years old and locked up at $6 million for the next two seasons. Paying anything for a guy who is a maybe this season and probably going to fall off a cliff soon would be an awful trade, but 10th overall is insanity.

It is also worth pointing out that he is not going be on the Flames next season by all accounts. So despite the competition for goaltenders, his value should be insanely low. Getting caught up in a bidding war would be terrible asset management.

Values go up and down in the league, but when the Devils traded 9th overall for Cory Schneider, they got a very legit goalie who gave them great seasons and it still didn't work out due to him getting injured like all Devils goalies once they get older and the cost was what could have been a decade of Bo Horvat who was selected with the pick. Trading someone like Sam Dickenson, who almost had 20 goals as a big defender, and Cole Eiserman, who had 58 goals in 57 games with the NTDP, would be a stupid move for a season or two, probably at best of a goaltender, should be a fireable offense.

If it's not 10th for Markstrom, what could spice up the deal? Eating half the cap would be ok, but the Devils don't need it that bad. Calgary, despite the Canadian market disagreeing, would need to add something substantial. The Flames are about to go into a rebuild, whether they want to or not, so guys like Connor Zary are not moving, and the ironic best piece to be added would be Yegor Sharangovich, but that feels unrealistic despite how much fans want it.

The Flames have very little interest after all the deadline deals, and the best they could really do is probably Markstrom, Vancouver's first, and Blake Coleman for 10th overall, but honestly, it's still not a good trade for the Devils. This draft is way too deep to move back that far for a temporary goalie and a middle-six forward.

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