In 2021-22, Calgary Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top goaltender.

Two years later, the Flames traded Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils and opted to go into the 2024-25 season with an untested goaltending duo of rookie Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar, Markstrom’s former backup coming off hip surgery. Neither had ever been a number-one netminder in the NHL before. It was reasonable to expect the Flames to take a step back in net in 2024-25.

In 2021-22, the Flames had a five-on-five save percentage of 92.54%. After two seasons hovering around the 90% mark, the Flames – with Markstrom swapped out for Wolf – posted a five-on-five mark of 92.33%. With a goaltending tandem that many in the hockey world expressed healthy skepticism about before the season began.

So as we wind down from the end of the Flames’ regular season, it’s worth posing a question: should the Flames run back the same goaltending tandem in 2025-26?

We’ll discuss this in two parts…

Wolf played 53 games for the Flames and posted a record of 29-16-8 with a 2.64 goals against average, .910 save percentage and three shutouts.

Wolf just turned 24. He’s under contract for one more season, at which point he’s eligible to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. We wouldn’t expect it to get that far, though. There’s a pretty strong argument to be made that Wolf is the player most responsible for the Flames finishing as close to a playoff spot as they did, and that’s not something lost on Flames management.

“Well, I think every organization, that’s what they’re looking for, they want to have that number one,” said Flames general manager Craig Conroy during exit interviews. “So, you’re always looking for the number one goalie, and to have a young guy come in and play as well as he has, it’s very promising moving forward. So, we’re excited.”

Since being selected in the seventh round in 2019, Wolf has answered basically every challenge posed to him. He’s been named the goalie of the year in his league four times since being drafted – each season from 2019-20 to 2022-23) and will likely be named a finalist for the Calder Trophy this season as one of the league’s top rookies.

He’s really good. He’s also really motivated. He readily rattled off things he thinks he can improve – including managing his depth in net, his awareness of rushes and in-zone plays, and looking big in net – during exit interviews.

“But I think continuing to work on these things so that my efficiency in my paint and my movements are crisp,” said Wolf. “And getting to my spots early so that I’m ready for the shot when it does come. And, you know, there’s going to be areas over the summer where I find that I need some tweaking. And that’s the beauty of it. You’re learning each and every day and not that you don’t go a day without figuring yourself out something else.”

Wolf’s really good. The Flames really like him. It’s probably in everyone’s best interests to hammer out a long-term deal well in advance of Wolf becoming an RFA. Either way, he seems likely to be manning the blue paint for the Flames for a long while yet.

Vladar played 30 games for the Flames and posted a record of 12-11-6 with a 2.80 goals against average, .898 save percentage and two shutouts.

The hockey world had a lot of good things to say about Wolf’s performance this season, but Vladar should get some credit, too. Not only was Vladar effective when he played, but his early usage – facing tougher opponents and taking the second half of back-to-back sets – likely allowed Wolf to build momentum. And down the stretch, Vladar was superb, posting a 6-1-1 record in his last eight appearances.

Head coach Ryan Huska praised both netminders during his exit interview.

“You know, we talk about Wolfie a lot, the season that he did have, but I think a big reason why it’s such a good year was because the way Dan was too,” said Huska. “Like we had a great tandem. I think when you look at our team, that was probably the strength of our team this year.”

Vladar is 27 and is on an expiring deal. He’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

But considering how strong the Flames were in net this past season, perhaps bringing Vladar back could be a good fit. Conroy noted the club has their pro scouting meetings coming up in May, and it’s reasonable to suspect the team will have a better idea regarding their options at that point.

For Vladar’s part, he’s really appreciative of the opportunity that the Flames gave him and he’s open to returning.

“I would love to be back,” said Vladar. “It’s up to my agent. He can do a good job, and it’s up to Connie and the management.”