Flames haven't asked Markstrom to waive no-move clause: report
Trade rumours have been swirling around the Calgary Flames all season long and the latest is focused squarely around goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
The 33-year-old is in the midst of a great individual season for the Flames, rocking a .912 save percentage and a 13-11-2 record through 26 games so far. Despite this, Calgary is still two points out of a playoff spot and has already sold off defenceman Nikita Zadorov to a division rival in the Vancouver Canucks earlier this season.
If Flames GM Craig Conroy is dead-set on being a seller at this year’s trade deadline, moving Markstrom might be one of their best bets at getting a haul of futures in return. This idea gained steam on Friday as NHL Network insider Kevin Weekes sent out a cryptic social media post regarding the Flames net-minder.
šļø .#HockeyX pic.twitter.com/93BZkj8Sw7
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) January 12, 2024
While that may make it seem like a trade is on the horizon, at least some cold water was poured on that theory on Saturday night. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared what he is hearing about the situation on the latest edition of Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada.Ā
“I don’t believe [the Flames] have gone to [Markstrom] with anything, any possibility of what could happen,” reported Friedman. “Calgary has a very high bar here in terms of they are not going to bother Markstrom with just anything, it would have to be something massive for them or somewhere they absolutely believe Markstrom would want to go before they would even consider going to him.”
Saturday Headlines/32: Eichel, Markstrom, Guentzel, Senators, All-Star captains and a Cody Hodgson comeback?https://t.co/Oy10u9ATXb
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 14, 2024
The Flames would not be searching very long for a list of teams that would be interested in acquiring a goalie like Markstrom. A laundry list of teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, and Carolina Hurricanes, are expected to be shopping for a goaltender in the coming months.
As far as goalies available for trade, Markstrom would represent one of the better, more battle-tested options and could fetch a pretty penny.
This would, however, put the Flames playoff hopes in jeopardy as they would have to entrust a tandem of Dan Vladar and rookie Dustin Wolf to help keep the ship afloat.
As of now, it seems like it’s safe to say that the Swedish net-minder will be sticking in Alberta, but who knows what the next few months hold for a Flames team that could be very busy.
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