Four Impressive Facts About Devils Goaltender Jacob Markstrom

Clearly, the most important thing for the New Jersey Devils to address this offseason was to acquire a No.1 goaltender. They tried to get ahead of it early, seeking a starting goaltender in February, a few weeks before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. They ended up with Jake Allen — who is certainly at the very least a stable presence in net — however, he wasn’t quite the caliber of starter the Devils were looking for. Finally, after a bump in the road saw a deal fall through, the Devils and Calgary Flames were able to consummate a deal as New Jersey reeled in 34-year-goaltender Jacob Markstrom.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald had his sights set one Markstrom for a while. There were other goaltenders who were in play for New Jersey, such as new Ottawa Senators netminder, Linus Ullmark, and Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. However, when the Flames finally agreed to meet the demands New Jersey put forth in retaining dollars, Markstrom ultimately became a Devil.

With that, here are four facts about Markstrom Devils fans should know heading into the 2024-25 season.

*Stats delivered by NHL Edge

Led the NHL in Goalie Points in 2023-24

No one acquires a goaltender with the thought that they’re going to help fill the net. It’s simply just not a factor that comes to mind when measuring a goaltender and their production.

However, one of the more interesting things about Markstrom in the 2023-24 season is that he led all goaltenders in points with five assists. Markstrom’s five points were three more than the next leading point collector in net, reigning Stanley Cup Champion Sergei Bobrovsky, who collected two helpers of his own.

Jake Allen registered one assist last season as well.

Looking back at Markstrom’s assists, none were anything spectacular such as an extended pass down the ice toward the offensive zone that led to a goal. However, it is indicative of Markstrom’s decision-making when the opposition gets the puck deep into the defensive zone. From each of his five assists, Markstrom simply helped start the rush to the offensive zone from his own end.

Perhaps his five helpers in 2023-24 were more coincidental than anything, but it’s certainly an interesting tidbit for a goaltender.

Faced the Eighth-Most High-Danger Shots in 2023-24

When the Devils acquired Markstrom, it was hard for Fitzgerald to contain his excitement.

Unfortunately for the Devils’ GM, he took a risk beginning the 2023-24 season with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid as the tandem in New Jersey. That risk backfired and contributed to the regression the Devils went through last season as each of the three goaltenders deployed (including Nico Daws) before the acquisitions of Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen struggled in most, if not, all situations.

However, that issue should be resolved next season.

“I think we added a true starter which is what we were looking for,” Fitzgerald explained. “Somebody who has been exposed to high-danger shots and showed well. We’re trying to shore up our defense and our defensive zone and the way we play. That’ll help eliminate those high danger shots that he’s not going to have to face. And I think a lot of it is his desire to be here. He had a complete no move last year and there was a lot of desire to be here. And that means a lot to me. He talked about wanting to be in New Jersey. This is a guy who wants to be here, and that to me trump’s a lot of things.”

Playing behind a faulty Flames team, Markstrom faced the eighth-most high-danger shots in the NHL last season — seeing 419 high danger chances across 48 games, putting the Swedish netminder in the 85th percentile.

Which leads us to our next statistic…

Markstrom Made the Fifth-Most High-Danger Saves

The Devils certainly hope to contain the opposition to fewer than 419 high-danger chances to give Markstrom an easier workload next season. Hence, the acquisitions of Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon in order to address an otherwise thin blue line.

However, if said high-danger chances do make their way to the Devils’ net, Markstrom is proven in making the difficult save.

Of the 419 high-danger shots faced, Markstrom stopped 359 of those chances, which put him in the 90th percentile of all goaltenders last season. The former Vezina candidate stopped 308 shots from in the slot and below the faceoff dots, as well as 51 shots attempted in the crease.

And thus…

Markstrom Led All Goaltenders in High-Danger Save Percentage

When it came to high-danger saves in 2023-24, no one was better than Jacob Markstrom.

His .857 high-danger save percentage (HDSV%) led the entire NHL, placing him in the 99th percentile in the category. The league average HDSV% in 2023-24 was .788.

Markstrom’s .857 HDSV% was .012% more than the next leading goaltender, Thatcher Demko, who accrued a .845 HDSV%.

It’s been a long time since the Devils were able to deploy a goaltender as dependable as Markstrom. With the high-danger specialist in net, the Devils are banking on him and an improved blue line to punch their ticket and return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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