The Devils Have a Big Markstrom Problem

When the New Jersey Devils went out and acquired goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2024, they thought that they had settled their goaltending issues.

In Markstrom, 35, the Devils thought they had acquired a masked man who could play a lot of games, provide consistency between the pipes, win a lot of hockey games, and help them get in and have success in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Essentially, the Devils thought they had acquired a true number one goaltender who could play like he did in the 2021-22 season, when he was a Vezina Trophy finalist as one of the league's top goaltenders and was 37-15-0-9 with a 2.22 goals-against average, a .922 save percentage, and nine shutouts.

It is safe to say that the Devils do not have THAT particular Markstrom. He was not terrible last season when he was 26-16-0-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .900 save percentage, and four shutouts, but he was also not great because if he was, the team would have made it further in the postseason and his save percentage would have been a lot better than it was in the regular season.

When it comes to this season, Markstrom has been a disaster in goal for his hockey club. As of this writing (Monday, December 8), he is 7-6-0-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and a .876 save percentage.

There have been several noticeable problems when it comes to Markstrom's play between the pipes this season. For starters, he allows the game's first goal a lot.

When your team gives up the first goal in the game, they are automatically behind the eight ball and have to play catch up hockey. At this point in time, the Devils, though not terrible offensively, cannot afford to play this kind of hockey on a nightly basis since they are without their best player, Jack Hughes.

Another problem that Markstrom is having is that he is allowing a lot of soft goals. Pucks are going through Markstrom, he is allowing goals on shots that he should stop, and the goals he is giving up this season seem to be ones that deflate the team.

Markstrom's poor play between the pipes also has the team on the outside looking in when it comes to the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference. The Devils were one of the league's best teams to start the season, but they are currently 16-12-1 for 33 points, which puts them two points out of the top three in the Metropolitan Division and one point out of a wild card spot.

All of Markstrom's problems in goal this season should be looked at as a big issue for the Devils because they recently signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract extension. That is a lot of money to be paying a goaltender who is inconsistent, is allowing a lot of bad goals, is not playing with confidence, and more importantly, is not winning hockey games.

Simply put, Markstrom needs to get his game in order and start playing like he is capable of. If he is not able to do that, the Devils either need to give Jake Allen more time between the pipes or they need to think about finding a goaltender who can be consistent and help this team win a lot of hockey games.