DO THE DEVILS GO ALL-IN FOR MARKSTROM?

TORONTO, ON — Adding another L to their ledger was not the ideal scenario for the New Jersey Devils Thursday night. The club is five points back of a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand on Detroit and two games in hand on Tampa Bay, who are six points up. The Devils have some soul-searching to do, and fast.

New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald has been continuously engaged in trade discussions, exploring league-wide options both in the short-term and long-term. The curious case of the team’s goaltending is at the forefront, and while the team can use the injury bug as a valid excuse this season if they miss the playoffs, Fitzgerald has been trying to find outside solutions.

It is no secret the Devils want to upgrade their blueline. With Dougie Hamilton out until late-April/early-May, if they get that far, the Devils have been poking around on Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev for several weeks. While either defenceman would impact the team’s performance, it is another Flame that might provide the biggest impact.

The Devils have been flirting with the idea of pushing hard for Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom. Fitzgerald and Co. have to decide if this is a move that needs to be heavily pursued by the March 8 trade deadline or if their efforts are better saved for the off-season.

Markstrom, 34, is in the fourth year of a six-year, $36 million contract and owns a full no-movement clause. He isn’t going anywhere unless he wants to, and Flames GM Craig Conroy is not going to Markstrom unless he is ready to accept an offer.

The Flames are transitioning. Despite winning three straight, they recently shipped out Elias Lindholm and the expectation is at least one of Hanifin or Tanev, if not both, is on the way out. Conroy cannot afford to lose his pending free agents for nothing, so this approach is the right one. But where does that leave someone like Markstrom?

In an interview Thursday with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, Markstrom admitted that while he is focused on playing for Calgary, he would consider waiving his NMC if the right opportunity presented itself.

“It’s up to Calgary, what they want to do,” Markstrom told Francis. “That’s what it comes down to. I don’t control it.

“Whatever direction they want to go, and what they want to do, I’m not going to force anything.”

Markstrom confirmed the Flames have not approached him about waiving his NMC, and indicated he is not asking for a trade.

Speaking with two separate sources close to Markstrom’s camp, New Jersey would be a team he would seriously consider going to, if asked. Talks have not hit that level of seriousness just yet, but if they do, my understanding is Markstrom would not stand in the way of a move to the Devils. But it’s going to cost Fitzgerald a nice asset or two, especially if either Hanifin or Tanev are part of the mix.

The Flames are believed to have interest in Devils youngster Alexander Holtz, who moved up to the top line last night in Calgary’s 5-3 win over New Jersey. I imagine he is part of the discussions if they get to that point, but whether he’s in a final deal is up to Conroy and Fitzgerald. Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek, who has one more year left on his contract at a $3.4 million salary cap hit and has struggled this season, could also be part of the equation to offset the dollars, according to one league source.

This may be premature, and these conversations may not get hot and heavy until the summer, if at all, but the Devils are exploring, and the Flames are willing to listen.

And listen they shall.

Beyond the Devils, the Flames have generated serious interest in both Hanifin and Tanev from other clubs. It’s a long list – pretty much every playoff contender has varying degrees of interest – but like any deal, it comes down to the price.

The Flames got the forward market rolling after they moved Lindholm. Sean Monahan was traded from Montreal to Winnipeg the next day, and trade chatter surrounding several players, including Anaheim’s Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano, Philadelphia’s Scott Laughton, Seattle’s Jordan Eberle and Alex Wennberg, and even Washington’s Max Pacioretty has picked up. And Calgary controls the defensive market, too.

Teams are waiting to see what the Flames do with their blueliners, creating a logjam for the moment. For now, anyway. Sean Walker, David Savard, Ilya Lyubushkin, Erik Johnson, Matt Dumba, Jakob Chychrun, Joel Edmundson and Zach Bogosian are just some of the blueliners being talked about.

The trade deadline is four weeks away. Let the games begin.

MORE D IN BIG D

The Dallas Stars are looking to add a defenceman, preferably with a right shot, by the March 8th deadline. Stars GM Jim Nill is fairly active in his search and he could be big game hunting.

The Stars are solid in goal and up front. They like their forward depth and are comfortable with the group they have assembled. It is the blueline that Nill and Co. seem to be focusing on, and they have poked around on the usual suspects.

Chris Tanev and Sean Walker are two names that appeal to the Stars, but I am curious if their search widens to players with term beyond this season.

Under Nill’s command, the Stars have not often traded their first-round picks. Outside of a draft day swap with Detroit in 2021, the only time Nill has moved his first-round pick was to the New York Rangers in Sept. 2022 for defenceman Nils Lundkist. The pick was in last summer’s draft.

If the Stars believe it’s their year – full disclosure: I picked them to win it all at the start of the season – coughing up another first for an impact addition could be in the cards.

Whatever move they make, it seems like it’s with the defence in mind.

TORONTO RE-ENGAGING?

Brad Treliving is making the rounds this week across the League and elsewhere and the Toronto Maple Leafs GM appears to be dipping his toe deeper into the trade waters.

The Leafs and Flames circled back on Tanev talks, which is no surprise considering how much interest there is in the player, and Treliving is evaluating his options elsewhere, too.

Nick Robertson’s name has started to pop up in trade chatter as a piece the Maple Leafs are willing to move, though I don’t believe he’s a player the Flames are currently interested in. He’s performed well since rejoining the big club this season and put up solid numbers in the AHL. With Toronto’s reluctance to move top prospects Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan, Robertson seems to be the carrot the team is dangling.

I believe Toronto would like to add at both ends of the rink, but how they make it fit cap wise is another matter. We’ve heard the likes of David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok out there as potential casualties of the cap, but they each own a 10-team no-trade list and could have a say.

It sounds like the Leafs are going to up their efforts to make an addition or two by the deadline, but how dramatic an impact is anybody’s guess at the moment.

HERE AND THERE

• Erik Johnson does not own any no-trade protection, but out of respect to the player, the Sabres will not trade him without first connecting with him and his agent Pat Brisson. Such a move, though, is more likely to occur closer to the trade deadline.

• Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin and Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere spoke again this week. The specifics are not known – to me, anyway – but the belief is the conversation centred around Philly’s defencemen: Rasmus Ristolainen, Sean Walker and Nick Seeler.

• Speaking of the Flyers, as my colleague Anthony Di Marco first reported, there is a lot of buzz around Scott Laughton. Edmonton and Toronto are part of that mix, but the Flyers are casting a wide net and remain first on their ask of a first-round pick.

• I am keeping an eye on the Oilers and Flyers. The Oilers are exploring multiple options, including adding a second-line winger and defenceman. They like Walker, and the Flyers are not only willing to retain part of his contract, but they are also willing to take on a salary if incentivized to do so. Jack Campbell, anyone?

• As we wrote about earlier in the week, before the Mikhail Sergachev knee injury, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been looking to add a defenceman with mobility. Sergachev’s timeline will factor in, but if he’s done for the regular-season – and you’re looking at least eight weeks to recover and return from fractures, so that could be align – expect Bolts GM Julien BriseBois to be aggressive with an extra $8.5M in LTIR cap overage space to play with, even with a light cupboard.

• If the Montreal Canadiens retain a chunk of Joel Armia’s contract, and they have one more retention slot available to them this season, he could be an affordable add for a team looking to acquire depth scoring in their bottom-six.

• Reilly Smith’s name is out there. He hasn’t fully worked out in Pittsburgh and the Penguins could look to move him and use his money to add another forward.

• We’re inching closer to the trade deadline, so naturally that means Alex Turcotte’s name will appear in trade speculation out of Los Angeles. He picked up his first NHL goal and assist last week against Nashville right before the All Star break.

• As I wrote about on Wednesday, Utah is A backup plan for the Arizona Coyotes, not THE backup plan. The objective hasn’t changed, and that’s to stay in the Phoenix/Scottsdale/Tempe area. But, yeah, expansion’s coming.