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FN Report Cards: Devin Cooley made himself a lot of fans this year
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Flash Stevens
May 27, 2026, 12:30 EDTUpdated: May 27, 2026, 01:08 EDT
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When the pre-season started for the 2025-26 campaign the Calgary Flames knew who would be their starting goaltender, but questions remained about who would be the backup. After winning the camp battle they chose Devin Cooley and, boy oh boy, were they rewarded for that decision. 

Expectations

I remember it vividly, Devin Cooley vs. Ivan Prosvetov. Both had underwhelming pre-seasons and at the end the choice was not clear at all. Cooley had a year with the Wranglers in 2024-25 where he was sensational for the first three-quarters of the year and Prosvetov came back over to North America after a year in Russia. Whatever criteria went into picking, Devin Cooley (the incumbent… kind of) was the choice. 
The first few starts of the season I remember talking about how he needs to have consistency in the position to avoid the Flames trading for a more experienced backup. The faith wasn’t really solid, and Calgary at the start of the year had genuine playoff hopes after missing by zero points the year before (I can’t believe that’s a true statement). Having a questionable backup wasn’t giving out great vibes at the time. 
Simply put: Cooley’s actual expectation was simply to give serviceable performances in relief of Wolf. No more, no less: just be a functional backup. 

Performance

The Cool Man™ laughed in the face of those minuscule expectations. In his first 10 starts, which takes us to the end of November, Cooley’s lowest save percentage he recorded in a single game was 0.921%. He had a 3-2-2 record and had completely solidified his role on the team. Later in the year the team turned to Cooley more often, something that was well earned with his outings. 
He also was able to ink a well earned two-year extension for $1.35 million per year. For a guy that got his first real NHL look at the age of 28 I look at this as a huge win for both player and team. Cooley gets some real job security and the Flames get a viable option to give Dustin Wolf rest when necessary. 
If any player on this roster were to get the top possible “grade” based on expectations vs. outcome, it would be Devin Cooley. From hoping for a functional backup to getting one that performed as the best backup in the entire league, all year long. A++ with extra credit. No notes. 

Outlook

It’s natural to expect, with the team in an actual rebuild, that Cooley’s numbers could falter. He’s got such an amazing attitude to allow himself to move on from bad performances. You can’t help but root for the guy, but regression is likely. Not to say he’ll ever become unplayable – I do at this moment fully believe he has the ability to earn a raise from someone come time for his next contract. I just do not think a year this good is repeatable with the roster in front of him and their clear lack of ability to score goals. Strategy adjustments for the offence could help, but there’s no guarantee when not much has changed in terms of personnel both on and off the ice. 
Besides: nothing matters, nobody cares, and we’re all going to die. So why stress the little things?

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