With several teams looking for help on the goalie market, we’ve seen several veterans speculated as possible fits, including John Gibson, Jake Allen, and Kaapo Kahkonen, among others. But some teams appear to be aiming higher as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that at least two teams have called the Flames about the potential availability of veteran netminder Jacob Markstrom.
The 33-year-old is in his fourth season with Calgary after signing with them as an unrestricted free agent back in 2020. Since then, his performance has run somewhat hot and cold with years of being in the top ten statistically and one — last season — where he had a save percentage well below the league average, checking in at just .892.
This season, Markstrom has been fairly inconsistent as well but a good showing lately has elevated his season numbers to a GAA of 2.67 and a save percentage of .908, numbers that are a considerable improvement over a year ago. However, the Flames find themselves on the outside looking in at a playoff spot heading into tonight’s action, fueling speculation that GM Craig Conroy could be one of the more prominent sellers over the next couple of months.
That said, many of the speculative moves Calgary could make revolve around veterans on expiring contracts which is not the case with Markstrom. He has two more seasons left after this one at a $6M price tag, one that wouldn’t be the easiest for many playoff-bound teams to fit in on their books. While retention is possible, multi-year retention doesn’t happen too often and there’s no guarantee that Conroy would be open to the idea. It’s also worth noting that Markstrom has a full no-move clause.
Calgary has top prospect Dustin Wolf biding his time in the minors with the Wranglers and he is clearly their goalie of the future. While many have wondered if Daniel Vladar would be the one to move to make room for Wolf on the roster, it’s also possible that the Flames take the bigger step and deal their current starter. If Conroy decides to make Markstrom available, it’s quite likely that a few more teams will be looking to inquire about the cost over the coming weeks.
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