It is crazy to think when think at the beginning of the 2023-24 season that the Calgary Flames would ever think about moving Jacob Markstrom.
However, with just a couple of weeks left before the NHL Trade Deadline, conversations around the 34-year-old puckstopper have been heating up.
However, despite the Flames not being favorites to sneak into the playoffs, and the call for the team to give prospect Dustin Wolf a chance to prove himself, there are reasons for Calgary to keep Markstrom around.
For the most part, the Gavle, Sweden native has bounced back after a rough 2022-23 season, currently holding an 18-15-2 record with a 2.60 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and two shutouts.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Luke Gazdic joined Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the reasons for the Flames to hold onto Markstrom.
Luke Gazdic: I just think goaltending is so hard to come by in the NHL. Not having a marquee, No. 1 guy can absolutely ruin a team, ruin a franchise. I’m not say [the Flames] should never [trade Markstrom], I just don’t know if this is the time to be doing it, this year. This is probably about as high as his value is going to be, possibly ever, with the way he’s playing.
I just don’t think Dustin Wolf has shown enough, at the NHL level, to prove that he’s ready to take this crease over. He absolutely dominated the American Hockey League, back-to-back Goaltender of the Year. That’s nothing to not take serious here, but I look at the situation with Markstrom and I don’t know if I’d be parting ways with him.
You can watch the entire segment, and full episode here…
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