Jacob Markstrom

**Jacob Markstrom** (born Jacob Anders Markstrom on January 31, 1990 in Galve, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for the Calgary Flames of the NHL.

Jacob was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 2nd round (31st overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Brynäs IF

On May 12, 2008, Jacob signed a two-year contract with the Brynas IF senior team. He had previously been playing for the Brynäs IF junior team. The following month, after solid performances in the Swedish Hockey League and internationally for Sweden in the Under 18 and World Junior tournaments, he was selected 31st overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft as the first choice of the Florida Panthers.

In the 2009–10 season, he led the Elitserien in the save percentage (SVS%) and goals against average (GAA) statistics, with 92.72% and 2.01 respectively. On June 1, 2010, it was announced that the Panthers and Jacob had agreed to terms on an entry-level contract.

### Florida Panthers

On January 23, 2011, Jacob 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. Jacob was then sent back to Florida's AHL affiliate team, the Rochester Americans. The team directives argued that he needed to get used to hockey in North America since players had different shooting tendencies.

He struggled during his first season in the AHL and also injured his knee. After undergoing surgery in South Florida, he worked to get back in the game, hoping to have a real shot at the NHL level. With Tomas Vokoun departing via free agency for the Washington Capitals, he attended Florida's September 2011 training camp to compete for a starting or backup position with fellow goaltenders Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen, ultimately being awarded the backup role when Clemmensen was injured.

On October 22, 2011, Jacob earned his first NHL win when he played in the third period against the New York Islanders and made 18 saves on 18 shots. He started the lockout shortened 2012–13 season in the AHL, but with Jose Theodore suffering an injury on March 2, 2012 (which forced him to miss the rest of the season), he was given the de facto full-time role, starting most of their games during the remainder of the season.

### Vancouver Canucks

At the beginning of the 2013-14 NHL season, it was believed that Jacob would become the full-time starter for the Panthers after signing a two-year contract extension as Jose Theodore was not retained; however, the Panthers signed Tim Thomas to a one-year contract and Jacob was demoted to the AHL again.

On March 4, 2014, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks (along with forward Shawn Matthias) in exchange for Roberto Luongo and Steven Anthony where he served as the backup goaltender for Eddie Lack; however, Jacob failed to make the roster out of training camp during the 2014-15 NHL season. After clearing waivers, he was assigned to the Canucks' AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets.

Following an injury to Ryan Miller, Jacob was recalled to the Canucks where he played in a game against the San Jose Sharks on March 3, 2015, but he was pulled after allowing three goals on four shots; the Canucks would go on to lose the game 6-2. On March 19, 2015, he made two saves in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets; however the Canucks went on to lose the game 6-2 as well.

On March 22, 2015, he got his first and only win of the 2014-15 NHL season when he made 26 saves out of 27 shots on goal in a 3-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes. On June 29, 2015, Jacob was re-signed to a two-year, one-way contract with the Canucks. He signed a three-year contract extension with the team on July 16, 2016.

On December 5, 2017, Jacob recorded his first NHL career shutout in a 3-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. On December 12, 2019, he recorded his fourth NHL career shutout in a 1-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes, stopping 43 shots on goal, giving him a second-place franchise record for the most shots stopped in a regular season game (which is tied with former Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider).

On January 3, 2020, he was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, replacing Vegas Golden Knights' goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury.

### Calgary Flames

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

## International Play

Jacob has represented Sweden three times in junior tournaments. He backstopped the Swedes to a fourth-place finish in the IIHF World U18 Championships in 2008. The next year, he was placed on the Swedish World Juniors team and led all goaltenders with a .946 save percentage and finished second with a 1.61 GAA; those impressive stats let him to earn Best Player honours at the goaltender position in 2009; his team also took home the silver medal.

Jacob represented Sweden again at the WJCs in 2010 and could not quite match his previous year's performance as Sweden earned a bronze medal. He did post a respectable .927 save percentage and a 2.21 GAA, both good enough for second place amongst goaltenders in the tournament.

In his first major tournament at a senior level, the 2010 World Championships, he played three games and recorded a shutout against Switzerland. He then won the 2013 ice hockey world championships with Sweden. He was the backup to Jhonas Enroth and played 2 games in the tournament. He won both games, allowing Sweden to ultimately win this tournament.

Jacob was named to Team Sweden for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. Named the backup goaltender, he played Sweden's opening game of the tournament after starter Henrik Lundqvist missed it due to an illness. In his lone game of the tournament, he helped Team Sweden defeat Team Russia 2–1; however, Sweden would end up losing in the semi-finals to Team Europe.