NEWSLETTER
With two days off during the Stanley Cup Final, we finally got a big trade in the NHL. And the New Jersey Devils have finally acquired a legit goaltender, acquiring veteran Jacob Markström from the Calgary Flames. TSN’s Travis Yost first reported the deal.
Darren Dreger is reporting the deal is for defenseman Kevin Bahl and New Jersey’s first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Bahl, 23, is a left-shot who is entering the final year of a contract with a $1.05M cap hit; he’ll be an RFA after the 2024-25 season. Pierre LeBrun added that the first-round pick is top-10 protected. The Flames retained $1.875M of the cap hit.
Markström, 34, has two years remaining on his contract that carries a $6M cap hit. The Fourth Period has reported Markström agreed to waive his no-move clause during the season and accept a trade to New Jersey, but that deal fell through.
The Devils will now need to do some cap gymnastics this summer. According to CapFriendly (while we still can do that), New Jersey will have roughly $72 million committed to only 16 players on their NHL roster.
