Panthers acquire Jacob Markstrom in five-player trade

The Florida Panthers are nearing a trade for New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Forward Evan Rodrigues is expected to be involved in the return per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. No salary was retained on Markstrom’s contract, per LeBrun.

The full trade will send forwards Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves to New Jersey in exchange for Markstrom and forward Angus Crookshank, per LeBrun. Rodrigues, Boqvist, and Crookshank each have one year remaining on their contracts, while Steeves is set to become a restricted free agent.

This move could solidify Florida’s crease after the Panthers acquired Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. The pair of acquisitions notably sets up former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky to hit the open market on Wednesday. Bobrovsky had a career-low performance in the 2025-26 season, unfortunate timing in the final year of the seven-year, $70MM contract he signed with Florida in 2019.

Bobrovsky, 37, crested the heights of the NHL on his long-term deal with the Panthers. He posted a save percentage north of .905 in four of his seven years on the deal, including a .915 Sv% in 2023-24. Bobrovsky also led the NHL with six shutouts that season. It was a strong performance that culminated in Bobrovsky backstopping the Panthers to the 2024 Stanley Cup. He kept the momentum rolling into the 2024-25 campaign, recording a .905 Sv% and five shutouts in the regular season, then supporting Florida to a second consecutive Cup win. But amid a string of injuries and lineup changes, Bobrovsky fell to a career-low .877 Sv% in the 2025-27 season – the lowest of any goaltender with at least 50 games played this season. He fell to that mark despite posting four shutouts, underlining the ups-and-downs of his chaotic season.

On the other side of that performance, Florida will turn towards another veteran looking for a resurgence in Markstrom. The 36 year old recorded 23 wins and a .883 Sv% in 44 appearances this season. It was a career-low year for Markstrom as well, on the heels of back-to-back seasons with a save percentage north of .900. Markstrom is only five years removed from a career-defining performance with the Calgary Flames in 2021-22. He finished that year with a league-leading nine shutouts to go with 37 wins and a .922 Sv% in 63 games. Those marks earned Markstrom the spot of Vezina Trophy runner-up behind Igor Shesterkin‘s only win. It was just the second time in his 16-year career that Markstrom has earned Vezina votes.