The New Jersey Devils have traded Jacob Markstrom and Angus Crookshank to the Florida Panthers for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist and Ben Steeves, the teams announced Tuesday afternoon.With Markstrom and Akira Schmid, acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday, the Panthers have reworked their goalie tandem, seemingly in preparation for two-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky to walk in free agency when the market opens Wednesday. As part of the deal, New Jersey will not retain any of Markstrom’s salary, which rises to $6 million annually when a two-year extension kicks in next season.Markstrom, a 36-year-old veteran with a .907 career save percentage, was a 2008 second-round pick by the Panthers and played 43 games for the club before getting traded to Vancouver. He’s coming off a down year with New Jersey in which he went 23-19-1 with an .883 save percentage, his lowest mark since 2014-15. Acquired by New Jersey in summer 2024, he finishes his Devils tenure with an .892 save percentage and was the team’s starting goalie when it made the playoffs in 2025. The Devils were overmatched in their playoff series that year, losing in five games to Carolina, but Markstrom had a respectable .911 save percentage in the postseason.Brady Tkachuk to the Florida PanthersSean McIndoe and Sean GentilleAs the headliner in the return for Markström, new Devils general manager Sunny Mehta gets Evan Rodrigues, a versatile forward who was a key contributor on the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning teams. He’s posted at least 11 goals and 31 points in each of the past four seasons — three with Florida, one with Colorado — and averaged 0.47 points per game (38.5 points per 82 games). He’s shown he can play with high-end players and will give New Jersey’s top-nine forward group a boost.Boqvist is a bottom-six forward who scored four goals in 73 games for the Panthers in 2025-26. Steeves spent the season with AHL Charlotte, racking up 45 points and 100 penalty minutes in 72 games. Crookshank similarly skated in the minors, notching 24 goals in 60 games for AHL Utica.Then-GM Tom Fitzgerald signed Markstrom to the two-year, $6 million extension in October, meaning the Panthers are now on the hook for both years of that contract. That almost certainly means the end of the Bobrovsky era for Florida. Markström and Schmid will be the team’s new tandem, and Bill Zito has around $4.44 million in cap space, per PuckPedia, to complete a contract with Schmid (a restricted free agent) and round out the rest of his roster.What it means for FloridaThis is a fascinating move by the Panthers to bring back their former goalie nearly 13 years later. Markstrom is 36, and coming off arguably the worst season of his NHL career. Last season in New Jersey, the Swedish netminder posted a career-low .883 save percentage and -11.37 goals saved above expected, which ranked 82nd in the league.Assuming the Panthers are healthy, they should be a much more defensively sound team than what Markstrom played behind in New Jersey, which should give him a chance to bounce back. He has shown flashes that he still has high-level play left in the tank, including the previous postseason when he was excellent for the Devils in a first-round loss to Carolina.This is still a huge risk for a Florida squad hoping for a third Stanley Cup. Markstrom is a big goalie who relies pretty heavily on his athleticism to make off-schedule saves outside of his structure. At his age, the odds are against him returning to elite form.The Panthers also added a backup netminder in Schmid from Vegas on Monday. Schmid, 26, ended up playing a career-high 29 games for the Golden Knights due to several injuries in net, and helped keep the team afloat and in playoff position while Adin Hill and Carter Hart missed time. He’s a stoic, positional goalie who reads plays well and thrives behind a strong defense, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he takes another step in his game in Florida. — GrangerAn adorable tradition: Putting babies in the Stanley CupJoe Smith and Madison EadesWhat it means for the Devils In return for Markstrom, new Devils general manager Sunny Mehta gets Rodrigues, a versatile forward who was a key contributor on each of the Panthers’ Stanley Cup-winning teams. He’s had at least 11 goals and 31 points in each of the past four seasons — three spent with Florida, one with Colorado — and averaged 0.47 points per game (38.5 points-per-82 games). He’s shown he can play with high-end players and will give New Jersey’s top-nine forward group a boost. Jesper Boqvist, originally drafted by the Devils in 2017, was on Florida’s 2025 Cup team as a fourth-liner and had 36 points in 151 games over the past two seasons the Panthers. Mehta was an assistant general manager with Florida before the Devils hired him this summer, so he has plenty of familiarity with both players.Steeves is 24 and has yet to play an NHL game. He spent the past two full seasons with AHL Charlotte.By moving Markstrom, the Devils got out of a contract that — at least based on last year’s performance — looked far from team-friendly. The move, however, will presumably require another goalie addition. Jake Allen had a respectable .903 save percentage in 2025-26 but hasn’t started more than 40 games since 2022-23. New Jersey has $12.97 million in projected cap space, per PuckPedia.Along with getting a goalie, the Devils could continue to look to improve their forward group. Mehta will have to decide if Rodrigues is enough to boost the top-nine or if he needs more of a top-six option. New Jersey received draft capital in the Šimon Nemec trade that could help with potential moves. — BaughJun 30, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms