New Jersey Devils, Jacob Markstrom working on a contract extension
Tom Fitzgerald noted the two sides have been taking about a new deal in his season opening media availability.
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New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald held his first media availability of the season on Thursday afternoon.
One of the more interesting tidbits to come to light was that he’s working on a contract extension with goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
Markstrom has previously expressed his desire to stick around. Given he largely played well in his debut season with the club, while also establishing himself as a team leader off the ice, it’s no surprise the interest is mutual.
I think a short-term deal (two years) in the $5.5-6 million range would make sense. I’d be surprised to see much of a raise.
The salary cap is going up, sure, but Markstrom would be signing his age 36 and 37 seasons away. Not exactly prime performance and/or earning years.
For New Jersey, re-upping Markstrom would give them an affordable starter who can play ~50 games a year and give the team a fighting chance on a nightly basis. He may not steal as many games as in the past but he certainly doesn’t cost his team many.
Of the 28 goaltenders to appear in 44+ games last season, only Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck and Darcy Kuemper had fewer Really Bad Starts than Markstrom, according to Hockey-Reference.com.
While he may no longer be an elite goaltender, he can still play at an upper-middle class level and turn back the clock once in a while.
If the Devils are able to extend him for two years, they’ll have both members of an above average tandem locked in for three more seasons.
That would give them stability at the position and allow them to bridge the gap until (hopefully) one of the team’s top goaltending prospects is ready for a meaningful role at the NHL level.
Now, extending Markstrom wouldn’t come without risk; even if the cost is perfectly reasonable.
He has a lot of mileage on him, which could increase the odds of injury or a dip in performance.
There are also very few 35+ goaltenders playing meaningful roles in the NHL, as I recently outlined. You can count on one hand players of that age group clearing 30 games last season.
Banking on one (1) goaltender to do so while providing quality play is not a small ask. Banking on two (2) is just not something we’ve seen.
And, again, Markstrom and Allen would be in their age 36 and 37 seasons under this theoretical extension.
At this point, a new deal for Markstrom feels inevitable. I have a very hard time belieiving Fitzgerald would put extension talks on everyone’s radar if he wasn’t confident something will get done sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, questions would follow why an agreement hasn’t been reached and it could become an unnecessary and self-inflicted distraction.
After years of constant turnover at the position, the Devils appear sold on stability and hitching their wagon to their veteran tandem.
Time will tell if that’s the right choice.