Former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving used to snark that the goaltending position was so important, the whole sport might as well be called goaltending. He’s not wrong, as good goaltending can paper over a lot of roster construction issues for a hockey club.

The Flames had some challenges in 2025-26, but for the most part their goaltending held up their end of the bargain, even during stretches of the year where their defensive group was either (a) prone to big lapses, like in October, or (b) disassembled via trades, like between January and the end of the season.

The goaltending group at the pro level for the Flames will look a little different in 2026-27 compared to 2025-26. Here’s a quick snapshot of how things are shaping up.

The Flames had a pretty consistent tandem in 2025-26: Dustin Wolf as their primary starter, backed up by Devin Cooley. It worked fairly well, even factoring in that the Flames shipped out so many key defenders during the season. (Owen Say worked a game as backup due to an illness to Cooley, while Arsenii Sergeev got a start in Game 82 in a similar circumstance.)

Well, the Flames are running this tandem back in 2026-27 (and perhaps in 2027-28, too). Wolf is starting his mammoth seven year, $7.5 million AAV deal this season, while Cooley begins a two year, $1.35 million AAV deal.

The stability at the NHL level in 2025-26 was not replicated with their primary affiliate, which juggled six different goalies over the course of their season – as they navigated a pair of significant injuries and growing pains along the way. Owen Say, Ivan Prosvetov, Arsenii Sergeev and Connor Murphy all started games for the Wranglers, with try-out netminders Cole Savage and Aaron Trotter dressing as back-ups on rare occasions.

Returning for 2026-27 is Sergeev, who ascended from being an ECHLer to start 2025-26 to winning an NHL game in the season finale. He’ll be joined by fellow Russian Kirill Zarubin, a 2024 draft choice signed by the Flames this summer, giving the Wranglers an all-Russian tandem with one combined season of pro experience. (On the other hand, Sergeev’s progression in his first pro year could fuel some optimism about Zarubin…)

Coming off significant surgery, Say was signed to an AHL contract by the Flames. Prosvetov signed with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk and Murphy joined the Coachella Valley Firebirds on an AHL deal.

Last season, Rapid City’s most-used goalies were Murphy (contracted to the Wranglers) and Sergeev (contracted to the Flames). ECHLers Rico DiMatteo and Nathan Torchia and SPHL call-up Jack Bostedt filled out the Rapid City netminding group.

As of this writing, the Rush haven’t signed a goalie for next season yet. The Wranglers signed Say and 20-year-old Russian netminder Semyon Konopsky to AHL deals. Once Say is healthy, he and Konopsky seem to be the probable Rush tandem. If you’re not familiar with Konopsky, he had a .930 save percentage with Loko-76 Yaroslavl in the MHL last season – similarly strong numbers as what Zarubin posted in the same league.

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