Jacob Markstrom Flames owners would have prevented a trade

Jacob Markstrom: Flames owners would have prevented a trade

Calgary Flames owners have rejected a trade that would have reportedly sent goaltender Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils.

That's what hockey expert Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff suggested on Monday.

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Flames general manager Craig Conroy reportedly agreed to a deal with his New Jersey counterpart for the 34-year-old masked man.

However, Don Maloney, president of hockey operations in Calgary, would not have approved the exchange at the request of the ownership group. Seravalli did not elaborate on the reason for this decision.

The Devils are having a difficult season. They also fired head coach Lindy Ruff on Monday. Their goalkeepers in particular were cited as an explanation for the failures. New Jersey has so far used three goalies to defend its net. Vitek Vanecek (32 games), Akira Schmid (18 games) and Nico Daws (18 games) all had a save percentage below .900 and a goals-against average above 3.00.

For his part, Markstrom is doing well despite the Flames' failures in 2023-2024. The Swede had a 21-16-2 record, a .912 save percentage and a 2.61 earned goal average. His contract runs through the end of the 2025-2026 season and is worth $6 million annually.