FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: The depth chart in the crease
As we enter the final week of our position-by-position series tracking the Calgary Flames Retool, it's time to look at goaltenders.
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It's a spot where a lot of ink has been spilled recently, whether that was about trading Jacob Markstrom a year ago to Dustin Wolf winning the starter's job and emerging as a Calder Trophy contender.
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Wolf's emergence puts the Flames in a nice spot for the foreseeable future, but it doesn't mean there aren't questions.
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There isn't much mystery about who is going to be starting in the crease for the Flames for the foreseeable future. Dustin Wolf 's fantastic rookie season has brought clarity to the position and you could comfortably argue that it has fast-tracked the retool as you don't want to waste his prime years. Wolf went 29-16-8 last season, with a 2.64 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage, earning himself a Calder Trophy nomination. Only three goalies — Stuart Skinner, Jordan Binnington and Alex Nedeljkovic — have earned Rookie of the Year nominations over the past 10 years, so Wolf is in nice company. He'll have to prove he can do it again and again, year after year, but that's true of every goalie. Assuming he does, the Flames have a franchise cornerstone already in place. He's a restricted free agent next summer, so getting a new deal in place will be a top priority for the organization over the next 12 months.
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2. Vladar's future
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After Dan Vladar 's end-of-season media availability, the conversation around the Ed Whalen Media Centre at the Saddledome was cautiously optimistic about the Flames' backup of four years reupping for another stint. There hasn't been any news since and with Vladar set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, it gets more likely by the day that the Flames will be looking for someone else to fill the backup duties behind Wolf. There's absolutely still an argument for bringing Vladar back if a deal can get done. He shouldn't be too expensive, worked well with Wolf last year and already understands the team's culture.
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If Vladar and the Flames do mutually decide to go their separate ways, who could find themselves backing up Wolf next year? There are a few contenders. Devin Cooley was the best goalie in the AHL for the first few months of last season and while his numbers dropped in the back half, he still finished the season with a 2.94 goals-against-average and a .905 save percentage. The 28-year-old has six games of NHL experience and will want to be competing. There are rumours the Flames are a leading contender to sign Russian shot-stopper Ivan Prosvetov, too, as he eyes an NHL return. The free-agency market for goaltenders is sparse this summer, with Jake Allen being the best of the bunch.
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