The New Jersey Devils have one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL, featuring Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. Add in Nico Daws, and it’s pretty good as well. So the Devils’ goalie depth is more secure than in years past. That depth is being tested right now as Jacob Markstrom is out of the lineup for a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury. This means Allen and Daws will handle the workload.
However, despite Markstrom being out of the lineup, Devils President and General Manager Tom Fitzgerald continues to negotiate with the 35-year-old goaltender in hopes of extending him. The goal for Fitzgerald is to have this tandem of Allen and Markstrom together as his club pushes for a Stanley Cup.
Jacob Markstrom Injury Tests New Jersey Devils Goalie Depth
After many years of goaltending woes, he finally found a number one guy and wants to keep him. Kevin Weekes reported that the Devils had an initial offer to Jacob Markstrom, which was a four-year deal worth $5 million per season. That was the last update we received on negotiations until now.
During a recent episode of Insider Trading on TSN, Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported that negotiations have been excellent between the two parties, but a gap remains to be closed.
James Duthie: “The short-term news in Jersey is Jacob Markstrom is out a couple weeks with a lower-body injury. But the long-term news is they’re trying to sign him long-term?”
Darren Dreger: “Yeah they are. I mean, they’ve exchanged some ideas. They’ve had recent discussions on what an extension might look like. I’m told that the talks have been healthy and they’ll resume negotiations in the very near future. There is a mutual interest between the veteran goaltender and the New Jersey Devils to get something done. I’m told the Devils absolutely love Jacob Markstrom, he’s great in the room. But there is a negotiation that still has to take place here and with everything there’s always a gap. So until that gap closes, the deal isn’t done.”
Remember, Markstrom is in the final year of the deal that he signed with the Calgary Flames. It carries an AAV of $6 million. The Devils have a cap hit of $4.125 million, while the Flames, as part of the trade of Markstrom to New Jersey, retained $1.875 million, which is 31.25 percent. Given his performance last year, especially in the playoffs and during his time out injured, $5 million over four years is not that bad, considering the cap is going up.
Devils Rumors: New Jersey Working on Jacob Markstrom Extension
Filip Gustavsson signed a five-year $34 million contract with the Minnesota Wild that carries a $6.8 million AAV. Could that be something the Devils look at as a starting point as the salary cap goes up? Or do they try to get creative and make a deal work similarly to what Jake Allen signed for?
Recall, Allen locked up to a new five-year contract worth $9 million, with an AAV of $ 1.8 million per season. However, with Markstrom out of the lineup, could this affect the number? It is something to watch, as Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Network.
“I think they’ve been trying to work with Markstrom on an extension, and I think that, I don’t know that it’s been close or anything like that, but I think they’ve been talking with his representatives about what that could look like,” Friedman said. “They came up with a pretty unique extension for Jake Allen in the summer, five years, I think 1.8 it was. So and I think they’ve been kind of looking at ways that they feel would eliminate any long-term injury risk. So the timing of this is bad for the player and the team. No good time ever, but this one in particular.”
The New Jersey Devils will continue to work on an extension with goaltender Jacob Markstrom. One thing to keep an eye on is how the playoff salary cap affects Markstrom’s AAV going forward.
