Jacob Markstrom

BIOGRAPHY

Jacob Markstrom was born January 31, 1990 in Gävle, Sweden. He is a goaltender in the National Hockey League.

Markstrom was selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. On 23 January 2011, Markström made his NHL debut at the Prudential Center in Newark when he replaced starter Scott Clemmensen at the start of the second period in a loss against the New Jersey Devils. Upon his debut, he became the youngest goaltender to ever play for the Panthers. On 4 March 2014, he was traded by the Panthers, to the Vancouver Canucks. On 29 June 2015, Markström was re-signed to a two-year one-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks. On 7 July 2016, Markström signed a three-year contract extension with the Canucks. On 5 December 2017, Markström recorded his first NHL shutout, in a 3–0 Canucks victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. On 12 December 2019, Markström recorded his fourth NHL shutout, stopping 43 shots on goal in a 1–0 Canucks victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, giving him a second-place franchise record for most shots stopped in a regular season game (tied with former Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider). On 3 January 2020, Markström was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, replacing the Vegas Golden Knights' goaltender Marc-André Fleury. 

On 9 October 2020, Markström left the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent and signed a six-year, $36 million contract with the Calgary Flames. 

For the 2021–22 season, the NHL returned to its standard alignment, with the Flames again competing in the Pacific Division. Following a disappointing prior season that had seen a midseason coaching replacement, new coach Darryl Sutter spurred the team to one of its best in years. Markström had the best season of his career to date, managing a 37–15–9 record with a .922 save percentage and a league-leading nine shutouts. He was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's best goaltender. The Flames won the Pacific Division, and advanced into the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs to meet the Dallas Stars in the first round. The series against the Stars became a goaltending duel between Markström and Stars netminder Jake Oettinger, with the latter recording the highest save percentage of the first round, while Markström had the second-highest, and was "instrumental" to the Flames' eventual victory in seven games. The team faced the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, the first playoff series "Battle of Alberta" in 31 years. The match bore special significance for Markström, who had declined to sign with the Oilers in 2020, but he performed poorly in the series, recording a .852 save percentage in a five-game series loss.