Jacob Markstrom's first comments with New Jersey Devils shows why this makes sense
Jacob Markstrom spoke with New Jersey Devils media pretty quickly after his trade was announced. What did he have to say after the huge move?
The New Jersey Devils finally pulled the trigger on a starting goalie. On Wednesday morning, we learned that the Calgary Flames were sending Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey for Kevin Bahl and a protected 2025 first-round pick. With the deal, the Flames will retain about 31% of the deal. It's a good deal for the Devils, and honestly it's not an awful deal for the Flames.
After the deal went down, Markstrom spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon. He was clearly gleaming. It was well reported that Markstrom not only waived his no-move clause to move to New Jersey, but he really hated how much of his situation was being discussed in the media. This was a guy who wanted to go to a winner and wanted people to stop talking about him. Well, New Jersey is one of the best places for all that.
Markstrom made some interesting comments during his media session. Here are three comments that really stood out.
"The team has something really good going on, the roster, the skillset (...) they really wanted me to come, it's always exciting to join a group, team and organization like the NJ Devils. I know a bunch of players who played there and absolutely loved it." #NJDevils Markstrom
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) June 19, 2024
This shows that the New Jersey Devils roster is still one that is considered a good one outside of Newark. Despite the awful season in 2023-24, the Devils are a very talented roster. The goalie likely caused them to miss the playoffs, which is an interesting thing to think about. The Devils missed the playoffs by 10 points, but if they had a competent goalie earlier in the season, they would make it easily.
Goalie probably cost the Devils 15-20 points. It sounds insane, but it's true. So, when you add Markstrom to a team that's already sporting Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Dougie Hamilton, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, etc. etc. etc., then you have a real contener on your hands. And it's clear Markstrom agrees.
Markstrom on waiving NTC for New Jersey: “They’ve got something going there looking at their roster…I know a bunch of players who’ve played there and absolutely loved it. Can’t wait to make it my home.”
— Bill Spaulding (@BillSpaulding) June 19, 2024
This has been a prevailing narrative around the New Jersey Devils for a while. After years where they did seem like the lesser of the three New York-area teams, the Devils are changing how players and others are looking at this team. This isn't a team you go to when the New York Rangers say no. This is now a team that's on the top of teams' lists.
One could see how excited Markstrom was to come to New Jersey. Part of that is the roster and we imagine part of that was this saga finally being over for him and his family, but he seemed genuinely excited to move to the Garden State.
This has been a years long journey for Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils. It takes more than a few emails and a good pitchman. The Devils have been making some bold moves to make sure nobody leaves unhappy. Whether it's turning Pavel Zacha into Erik Haula or sending Reilly Walsh to Boston when they didn't have room for him, the Devils made it a point to find what's best for everyone, even if it wasn't in New Jersey.
This all started with Dougie Hamilton, who was teammates with Markstrom in 2020-21. The Devils pulled out all the stops to show Hamilton why this was the right place for him. Hamilton had an interesting reputation when he left Carolina, but it's completely different in New Jersey. He's loved here. Markstrom hopes to do the same thing.
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