One of many Calgary Flames players that has circulated in trade rumours in recent weeks is that of starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom. Elliotte Friedman reported in January that the Flames weren’t rushing to move Markstrom and would only ask him to waive his no-movement clause (NMC) for a massive offer.
Well, today Sportsnet’s Eric Francis released an article that shed some further light on the 34-year-old goaltender’s thoughts on the trade rumours and where he wants to be moving forward with the Flames roster in flux.
Here’s what Markstrom had to say when asked about his current situation in Calgary.
It’s up to Calgary, what they want to do… Whatever direction they want to go, and what they want to do, I’m not going to force anything.
Jacob Markstrom to Eric Francis on his future in Calgary
It’s certainly an interesting development that Markstrom would not likely use his NMC to block a potential trade away from the Flames. With his good friend Elias Lindholm getting traded last week and the Flames entering a retool of sorts, it sounds like Markstrom isn’t against a move away from the Flames if it ever came to that.
He did mention that he hasn’t requested a trade out of Calgary but is open to talking to Flames management if a trade opportunity ever arose.
“I’m not going to go up and meet and ask for a trade… When they send an email that I’ve got to sign something to remove my no-move clause, then it’s a different conversation we’ve gotta have.”
Jacob Markstrom to Eric Francis on trade rumours
With two more years on his deal at an AAV of $6.0M and the Flames likely not being in playoff contention for the near future, it could make a lot of sense to shop Markstrom to see what the returns would be. If the team could get some future pieces for the retool and give Markstrom a chance at a Stanley Cup, it could be a win-win scenario.
With the trade deadline just over a month away, these rumours won’t be going away anytime soon and Markstrom’s comments only poured fuel on the fire.
