Friends, the Calgary Flames had a tough season in 2022-23. A year after their goaltending was excellent – 5th in all-situations save percentage and 4th at five-on-five – their netminders all had tough years, collectively ranking 24th in all situations and 31st at five-on-five.
But it’s a new season, with a new coach and new optimism around the club. Over at ESPN, despite the rollercoaster of recent performances, they’ve ranked the Flames’ goaltending tandem as 13th-best in the NHL.
Three things I learned in my conversations for the 2023-24 NHL goalie tandem rankings:
– Love for Juuse Saros and @PredsNHL, pushing them top 3.
– Skepticism about @FlaPanthers and @NJDevils.
– Concern about Jonathan Quick as the @NYRangers backup.https://t.co/utif0IkPPV
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) October 3, 2023
Here’s a quick teaser from ESPN’s site:
“Wait, wasn’t Darryl Sutter’s system supposed to boost goalie’s numbers? Guess that’s one reason Sutter’s no longer behind the bench, as Calgary was 23rd in team save percentage last season (.890) and the goalie they’re paying $8 million in salary (Markstrom) saw his save percentage drop by 0.30 year over year.”
Projections of the Flames’ bounce-back, such as ESPN’s, likely rely on bounce-back performances from Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar – Markstrom is one season removed from being a second-team all-star and Vezina Trophy runner-up, after all – but they also centre on some opportunity for reigning AHL most valuable player Dustin Wolf. If Wolf gets an opportunity to spell off his two more veteran counterparts, many think it could give the Flames a big boost in net.
Nevertheless, if you looked at the Flames’ three netminders and thought to yourself “Man, it sure does seem like they have some depth there,” the folks at ESPN definitely agree with you.
