Devils' Goaltender Markstrom Gets Confidence Boost With Contract Extension

In his short tenure as the starting goaltender for the New Jersey Devils, goaltender Jacob Markstrom has been a mixed bag.

Last year was a decent one for the 35-year-old netminder. Markstrom finished his first season with the Devils with a 26-16-0-6 record to go along with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .900 save percentage, and four shutouts.

He also showed that he can played well in the Stanley Cup playoffs, even though his club lost in five games in the first round to the Carolina Hurricanes. He finished the series with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.

This season, however, has been a different story for Markstrom. As of this writing (Tuesday, November 4), he is 3-2 with a 4.17 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.

Based on the above, you could see why fans were perplexed when the team signed Markstrom to a two-year, $12 million contract extension back on Friday, October 31. Prior to this signing, Markstrom's numbers were terrible as he was off to the worst start of his career with a 5.13 goals-against average and a .830 save percentage.

Not only was Markstrom playing poorly, but Jake Allen was and still is playing head and shoulders above him. Allen is currently 5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

With that said, this signing shows that the Devils are doubling down when it comes to Markstrom as it is apparent that they view him to be a big part of the team for the next two seasons. In fact, it can be said that the kind of performance Markstrom gave in his team's 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night at the Crypto.com Arena.

In his team's win, Markstrom made 43 saves and looked like a goaltender that is more than deserving of all the money that the Devils are paying him. In the game, Markstrom made a lot of high-quality saves while keeping his game simple, not getting caught out of position, and not allowing any soft goals.

After the win, Markstrom's teammate Dawson Mercer told reporters that the team is lucky to have him and that he more than deserved to win that hockey game.

Oh, it’s unbelievable," New Jersey forward Dawson Mercer said. “They had a lot of shots there, and ‘Marky,’ he’s played really well and it all came in good moments. Get the win, have an unbelievable game like that, ‘Marky’ did, and then have that contract signed and we have him for a few more years now, we’re really excited. So it was definitely a good day.

With that in mind, maybe getting the contract extension is exactly what the doctor ordered for Markstrom to help kickstart his game. There is no doubt that when Markstrom is on, he can be a very tough goaltender to beat as he plays big between the pipes, makes big saves, and looks like a money goaltender.

Now that the contract is signed, sealed, and delivered, it will be up to Markstrom to fully kick his game into high gear and be the above average goaltender that the Devils are paying a lot of money for.