The New Jersey Devils agreed to a two-year extension with goalie Jacob Markstrom on Friday, with an average annual value of $6 million.

Markstrom, 35, was entering the final year of his contract, which had the same cap hit. This move helps the Devils lock in a three-year window in which they believe their group can contend.

The Swedish-born goaltender was a massive acquisition for the Devils in June 2024 as New Jersey traded defenseman Kevin Bahl and a first-round pick to the Calgary Flames to secure its new franchise backstop and stabilize the team.

The Devils’ brain trust, including general manager Tom Fitzgerald and executive vice president of hockey operations Martin Brodeur, has loved having Markstrom in the organization. Markstrom, a big but agile goaltender at 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, has also formed a strong bond with goaltending partner Jake Allen.

The Devils are 8-3-0 before Saturday’s road game against the Los Angeles Kings. Markstrom hasn’t been his strongest, going 2-2-0 with a 5.13 goals-against average and an .830 save percentage in four appearances. He has also been sidelined briefly by injury.

However, the Devils are banking on his body of work, including his spectacular play in last year’s first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes. Markstrom posted a .911 save percentage, but New Jersey, which was severely hobbled by injuries, lost to Carolina in five games.

Markstrom has finished top five in Vezina Trophy voting twice in his career and has gone 28-18-6 in the past year-plus with the Devils, including a 2.67 GAA and four shutouts in 53 games. A 2008 second-round pick of Florida, Markstrom has appeared in 538 games with the Panthers, Canucks, Flames and Devils. He has a .908 career save percentage.

The Devils sought a shorter-term deal but also wanted to capitalize on a thin goaltending market. Allen, also 35, is signed through 2030.

SUNRISE, Fla. — Brad Marchand put the puck in the back of the net for the Florida Panthers on Saturday night then pointed a finger in the air and looked to the sky.

The reason was obvious.

This goal was for Selah.

Marchand’s sixth goal of this season and the 430th of his career was unlike any other. It came three days after he was home in Nova Scotia paying tribute to the life of 10-year-old Selah Panacci-MacCallum — the daughter of his close friend JP MacCallum. Selah died Oct. 24 of adrenal cortical carcinoma, a rare form of cancer.

“The hockey gods always come through,” Marchand told the Panthers’ broadcast after the second period in an interview aired throughout the arena. “It was a really, really tough week. That’s a special one to get for Selah.”

Marchand missed Florida’s game Tuesday against the visiting Anaheim Ducks to be with his friend’s family in Nova Scotia and did so with the Panthers’ blessing. Marchand filled in for JP MacCallum as the coach of the under-18 March and Mill Co. Hunters in Halifax on Wednesday night; Marchand co-owns that team.

That game Wednesday was a fundraiser for the MacCallum family.

“We fully appreciate the things that are most important, and hockey’s very, very important,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said earlier Saturday. “But there’s some things that just easily outweigh it, and they need to be dealt with. And what he’s going through is real.

“There’s things that just trump the game of hockey.”

Marchand said his bond with JP MacCallum goes back for many years and that he simply had to make the long trip home to pay tribute to Selah.

“She lived life to the fullest,” Marchand said during Saturday’s in-game interview. “And walking away from the week, I have such a new perspective on life and what it all means and how precious it is and how precious time is. It’s every day. It’s not just a game. It’s not just a sport. It’s how we live every single day, and she lived to the fullest.

“To carry on her memory, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to live every day to the fullest, enjoy it, and we’re not going to take it for granted.”

PHILADELPHIA — Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev was taken to the hospital after an on-ice collision with another player in Saturday night’s 5-2 win over Philadelphia but had movement in all extremities, coach Craig Berube said.

Tanev collided with Philadelphia forward Matvei Michkov with 11:37 to play in the game. The contact was shoulder-to-shoulder, but Tanev’s head snapped back upon contact and he stayed face down on the ice.

Trainers attended to him and stabilized his head and neck before lifting him onto a stretcher and wheeling him off the ice. It was Tanev’s first game back after missing four with a concussion. Michkov was assessed a minor for interference on the play.

After the game, Berube said Tanev was taken to a Philadelphia hospital for testing and had movement in all extremities. He said there was a chance Tanev would fly home to Toronto with the team.

“He’s moving and I think he’ll be all right,” Berube said. “He’s getting some tests done, so we’ll see. He might be coming home with us.”

Tanev had an assist on a goal by Jake McCabe in the second period.

“It’s a tough feeling, honestly because he’s such an integral part of this team,” said Auston Matthews, who scored a goal in the victory. “Anytime they bring out a stretcher, it’s not a good feeling deep inside. We’re all obviously thinking about him, praying for him and hoping for the best.”