What will New Jersey Devils' playoff ouster mean for Calgary Flames on draft day?
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There may have been some hooting and hollering around Calgary on Tuesday night when the New Jersey Devils were eliminated from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
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No offence to Jacob Markstrom, of course.
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When the Flames traded Markstrom to New Jersey last June, the return package included the Devils' first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. Now that they've lost out, that pick will most likely slot in at No. 18 overall.
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That is only a couple spots lower than the Flames' outgoing first-rounder, which they'll surrender to the Montreal Canadiens to complete the Sean Monahan salary-dump trade from 2022. (There is a 0.5% chance that the Flames could win the first lottery draw and move up to sixth overall, in which case they'd keep their own swing. The complex conditions of the swap included Top-10 protection.)
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You could make a case that the Markstrom trade has worked out for both sides. Goaltending wasn't the issue for the Devils, although they couldn't overcome a long list of injuries as they tried to upset the Carolina Hurricanes. The 35-year-old Markstrom racked up 49 saves in a double-overtime heartbreaker in Tuesday's Game 5.
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The Flames, meanwhile, landed a top-four defenceman in Kevin Bahl and created a roster spot for rising-star netminder Dustin Wolf. Bahl, 24, finished third on the team in average icetime during his first campaign in Calgary, while Wolf nearly willed his squad to a wild-card berth and is a shoo-in to be a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
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Calgary's general manager, Craig Conroy, will now hope to cash in the Devils' first-round pick on a future difference-maker.
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It's no secret that the Flames' scouting staff will be focused on centres, since that is a thin spot on the organizational depth chart. Among the pivot prospects who could be available in the range of No. 18 are Braeden Cootes (Seattle Thunderbirds), Brady Martin (Soo Greyhounds), Jack Nesbitt (Windsor Spitfires), Cullen Potter (Arizona State Sun Devils) and Cole Reschny (Victoria Royals).
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