[Tkachukwagon]

I wasn’t sure where to put this, but the Athletic writers ranked all the starting goalies in the league. Markstrom ranked 11th:

11. Jacob Markstrom, Flames

Average Tier rating last five seasons: 2.87
Highest Tier rating: 1.97 (2020)
Lowest Tier rating: 3.50 (2017)

Few goalies in our tiers have fluctuated as much as Markstrom the past five years.

After a strong season with Vancouver in 2019-20, the 6-foot-6 goalie was rewarded with a six-year, $36 million contract in Calgary. He then went through an up and down season in which he got hurt and had trouble acclimating to his new team.

“He had a real struggle last year,” said a source who knows him well. “Part of it was personal, (being) by himself, then COVID (protocols). He really struggled with (the) COVID (situation). I do think he’s a top, top NHL goaltender.”

“I think he’s a good goaltender and he’s got size and he moves well,” a former goalie said. “Very much consistency issues with him. We kind of saw it a lot last year. … I’m going to give him more of a positive look in Year 2 (with a new team) than he probably showed last year.”

That seemed to be the common belief with the experts. Throw the first year in the trash and expect to see the real Markstrom this season.

“Just scratching the surface to stardom,” a league executive said.

“He was the MVP in Vancouver two years in a row. Then he gets to Calgary … (and) hits the ditch. But raw ability and talent, he’s special,” a former goalie said