Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has not both not played well and been injured already this young season.
But Tom Fitzgerald is already working on making sure their No. 1 goalie is in the Garden State for the foreseeable future.
The New Jersey Devils GM opened up about his hopes for Markstrom’s return and why he is trying to lock in the 35-year-old veteran to a long-term contract before he hits unrestricted free agency July 1.
Markstrom has been on injured reserve and will reportedly miss “a couple of weeks” with a lower-body injury, which he sustained in the Devils’ win last week in Columbus.
The Devils goalie, who is in his second season after they acquired him from the Calgary Flames after the 2023-24 season, is 2-1 with a 3.89 goals-against average and minus-3.23 goals-saved above average in his three games this year.
Devils GM Has Been Talking With Jacob Markstrom’s Agent For ‘A Long Time’
The Devils had targeted Markstrom, the 2022 Vezina Trophy runner-up to Igor Shesterkin, for at least a full calendar year to shore up their porous goaltending before they finally landed him in a blockbuster deal for a first-round draft pick and defenseman Kevin Bahl on June 19, 2024.
So Fitzgerald isn’t going to let his franchise goalie get away so easily.
“His agent and I have been talking for a long time,â Fitzgerald told Pierre LeBrun of “The Athletic,” who made sure to point out that Fitzgerald emphasized the âlong.â âItâs just exchanging health opinions on where older goalies are at. But we love Jacob Markstrom. We love his family. We want to continue this relationship moving forward.”
This is one of the first situations where Fitzgerald has had to navigate the salary-cap implications in his five years as general manager — since the Devils are up against the upper limit after defenseman Luke Hughes’ $9 million AAV signed at the end of training camp.
Yet, Fitzgerald has been a skilled negotiator throughout his tenure with the Devils and has done so with a common-sense approach.
“When you start these negotiations, youâve got term, youâve got money, youâve got commitment involved,” Fitzgerald said, “and itâs just, âOK, letâs try to find some common ground on what makes sense for him and what makes sense for us.’â
Tom Fitzgerald: Devils Goalies Are Doing The Job Without Markstrom Playing
The Devils are alone atop the Metropolitan Division after winning six straight games, including backup goalie Nico Daws’ 29-save effort in their 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday.
Wednesday was Daws’ first outing of the year, since he spelled Jake Allen, who was thrust into the starting role when Markstrom went down.
Allen, a veteran with his third NHL team and 13th NHL season, has been a revelation in Markstrom’s absence, boasting a 3-0 record, .931 save percentage 1.91 goals-against average and 3.04 GSAA in seven games — a far cry from where things were as recently as 2023-24, when the Devils ranked 30th in team save percentage (.885).
âWeâre getting big saves when we need big saves,” Fitzgerald said. “Weâre not giving up what we used to give up.â
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