PRINCE GEORGE — Asked if he was surprised that less than a year after Jacob Markstrom sailed unclaimed through waivers on his way to the minors from the Vancouver Canucks, the goalie is now the team’s undisputed backup, general manager Jim Benning told a story.
Two decades ago, Benning had just joined the Buffalo Sabres when they exposed an erratic goalie named Dominik Hasek in the expansion draft. But the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Mighty Ducks knew a stiff when they saw one, selected six goalies from other teams and left Hasek to the Sabres.
“And the next five years in a row or whatever it was, he was the MVP of the league,” Benning said.