With the Stanley Cup Finals on pause until Friday, most hockey fans expected nothing more than a run-of-the-mill couple days in the hockey world before puck drop in Edmonton. Instead, NHL GMs decided to turn a random Wednesday into a mini trade deadline experience and treat everyone to a couple blockbuster trades.
The Devils and Flames kicked off the day, sending Jacob Markstrom to New Jersey in exchange for Kevin Bahl and a 2025 first round pick. Shortly after, L.A. sent shockwaves through the hockey world by trading former 2018 3rd overall pick Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Capitals in a one-for-one deal for Darcy Kuemper. San Jose was also in the mix with some smaller-scale moves, adding Ty Dellandrea from Dallas and picking up Barclay Goodrow off of waivers.
Here are my thoughts on the two big trades:
Markstrom to NJD
After many discussions over the course of the year, the Devils and Flames were finally able to agree on a Markstrom deal. New Jersey acquired Markstrom (50% salary retained) and has the high-profile goaltender under contract at $4.125M AAV through the 2025-26 season.
In return, the Flames added 23-year-old defenceman Kevin Bahl on their blueline and another first round pick to their collection in 2025. It can be difficult to project the success of goaltenders, but I think it is pretty safe to call this trade a win-win as of right now.
The Devils are coming off of a very underwhelming 2023-24 season, missing the playoffs in a year many people expected them to compete for the top seed in the Metro. While goaltending was not the only reason for the Devils’ struggles, it was definitely the main one. GM Tom Fitzgerald needed to address the area between the pipes this off-season and he did so with this deal to bring in Markstrom. By the numbers, Jacob Markstrom was one of the better goalies in the league in 2023-24. Markstrom registered a .905 save percentage (SV%) and +28.93 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) over 48 games with Calgary. Since Markstrom is 34 years old and not getting any younger, it is unlikely that New Jersey will get another rockstar GSAx performance like this out of him. However, even when Markstrom isn’t among the cream of the crop for NHL goaltending, he has proven to have a positive impact more often than not. Between him and Jake Allen, Devils fans can rest assured knowing that their goaltending department is in a much better place heading into next season.
Selling high on Markstrom also makes a lot of sense from a Flames’ perspective. Given the state of Calgary’s current roster, there is little to no chance of them being true Cup contenders in the window Markstrom has left as a starting goalie. The opportunity to add a 1st round pick and intriguing roster player in exchange for an older goaltender also doesn’t come around very often. If the Flames tried to hang onto Markstrom, it is likely Markstrom would’ve regressed and lost significant trade value in the market. The way I see it, flipping Markstrom for future assets was probably a no-brainer for GM Craig Conroy. Flames fans can expect to see a lot more of Dustin Wolf at the NHL level beginning next season.
PLD to Washington
I wouldn’t call the Pierre-Luc Dubois, Darcy Kuemper swap a win for either L.A. or Washington, despite the move making sense for both sides.
By Kings GM Rob Blake’s own admission, Dubois was not a good fit in Los Angeles. After being traded from Winnipeg to L.A. and signing a massive eight-year, $8M AAV contract last summer, PLD failed to live up to his cap hit and had a tough time generating offence with the Kings.
In 82 regular season games, Dubois mustered only 16 goals and 40 points… not what you want to see from your 2nd highest paid forward. Perhaps Dubois would have improved offensively with another opportunity in L.A., but given the Kings’ short window to win with Kopitar and Doughty, Blake made the right decision shedding his hefty contract. I hesitate to call this trade a win from the Kings’ perspective, because even though they were able to dump Dubois’ salary and gain cap freedom, none of this would have been necessary had they not screwed the pooch by trading for Dubois and signing him to a mammoth extension. In this PLD saga, the Kings ultimately traded Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and a 2024 2nd round pick for a 34-year-old Darcy Kuemper. That is not a win.
From the Caps perspective, I don’t understand why people are so against acquiring PLD. Washington is stuck in a dreaded middle ground between true contention and a proper rebuild. If it weren’t for Ovi trying to beat Gretzky’s goal record, the right move for the franchise would probably be committing to a rebuild. However, since they are trying to remain somewhat competitive, why not trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois? At worst, Dubois’ impact and production remain the same and he is an overpaid player on their roster during their eventual rebuild. At best, PLD could develop and unlock his potential in Washington. Because the Capitals aren’t true contenders, I don’t think Dubois’ contract is as much of a problem for Washington as it was in L.A. I wouldn’t say this trade is a win for the Caps either, but I would much rather have Dubois on my team than an aging Kuemper in Washington’s situation.
What are your thoughts on yesterday's blockbuster trades?! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below :)
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