Panthers get: Goalie Jacob Markstrom, forward Angus Crookshank

Devils get: Forwards Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, Ben Steeves

Sean Gentille: The big-picture reason to care about this one is that it signals Sergei Bobrovsky’s exit from South Florida. Two Stanley Cup championships and $70 million in the bank over seven years? Not a bad run. Good luck in Toronto or wherever the road takes you on July 1, Officer Bobrovsky.

Florida, rather than meet Bobrovsky’s (presumably) prohibitive contract requirements, is now set to head into next season with Markstrom and unsigned RFA Akira Schmid as its primary goaltending tandem. Between them, Markstrom and Schmid will carry a cap hit of $8.5 million or thereabouts. Bobrovsky’s last deal counted for $10 million annually.

Based solely on the 2025-26 season, the Panthers — a team that needs every dollar it can squeeze from other spots to fill out its bottom six — have made a prudent financial decision. Markstrom, maligned as he might’ve been in Jersey, posted a higher save percentage (.882 to .876) and similar goals-saved above expected numbers on public models.

That, of course, doesn’t account for Bobrovsky’s playoff resume or Markstrom’s rough two-year run as the Devils’ latest non-answer at the position, but we’re still going to bet on this largely working out for Florida. We’ve seen too many goaltenders leave the Devils and figure things out, to one degree or another, and the Panthers — somewhat famously — are good at this whole team-building thing. They now have money to sign defenseman Radko Gudas and potentially a fresh, market-efficient fourth-liner, and the goalie market is barren enough to make you wonder what would’ve been behind Door No. 2 for a contender of their caliber. No issues there. He makes sense for the Panthers.

That’s not to say it wasn’t the right move for the Devils, either. New general manager Sunny Mehta is taking over a roster too flawed to make a 36-year-old with a $6 million cap hit a necessary risk. Rodrigues and Boqvist are useful pieces who can either help the Devils right the ship or return something at the trade deadline.

Panthers grade: BDevils grade: B+

Shayna Goldman: For whatever reason, former Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald extended Markstrom early with a two-year deal carrying a $6 million cap hit last November. At the time, Markstrom had only earned one quality start in four games, and while a shaky start like that isn’t season-defining, it was pretty questionable at the time considering 1) his inconsistent play in Year 1 with the Devils, and 2) his age. Goalies are volatile, especially as they get into their late 30s, and New Jersey was committing two years to someone who was already on the decline and going to be 36 by the time the next contract kicked in.

Two things can be true in this scenario, though: The contract looked like a misstep at the time, and Markstrom still could provide some positive value on it.

It makes sense why New Jersey doesn’t want to keep guessing on the latter at this point. The Devils’ goaltending has been incredibly unstable throughout this playoff window. While a change in goalie coach could change that now that Dave Rogalski has been dismissed after an incredibly dicey tenure, a clean slate is the best path forward here. In the process of clearing that contract, the Devils got some much-needed middle-six support in Rodrigues and Boqvist, who could be a Paul Cotter replacement.

Markstrom’s exit obviously leaves the Devils with a pretty important hole to fill, leaving things somewhat incomplete. But it feels like this team is gearing up for a splash. The Simon Nemec trade bought the team some assets to flip, while moving Markstrom cleared some cap. Let Mehta cook here because he clearly has a good handle on what needs to be done to address some of last year’s shortcomings.

There’s obviously risk in Florida betting on a 36-year-old goalie coming off a rough season, especially for a team purely in win-now mode. But adding Markstrom could actually be the path of least resistance, considering how much Bobrovsky is seeking on a new contract. Plus, now the team doesn’t have to lose someone like Anton Lundell to land Connor Hellebuyck, which didn’t make a ton of sense because Florida doesn’t need an ace in net. Sure, Bobrovsky leveled up in the playoffs in each of their Stanley Cup runs, but he was far from perfect leading up to that point. If the team can play its usual stout defense, Markstrom and Schmid (another former Devil acquired via trade from Vegas) may be able to give this team quality enough goaltending to get by. Maybe Markstrom (and Schmid, to an extent) will join Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood in bouncing back after leaving New Jersey.

Panthers grade: BDevils grade: A-