With Jacob Markstrom trade rumours swirling for well over a month leading up to the trade deadline, it seems the Calgary Flames still can’t escape discussion about the future of their crease.
News broke this week that Flames goalie Dan Vladar would be sidelined for the remainder of the season, undergoing hip surgery. Vladar has reportedly been dealing with the injury throughout the season and will look to recover in time for the start of next season’s training camp.
Vladar heading to the IR means a tandem of Dustin Wolf and Jacob Markstrom will backstop the Flames for the remaining 13 games of the regular season.
Wolf’s latest outing was Monday when the Flames hosted the Washington Capitals. Wolf allowed four goals on 32 shots, and unfortunately, it was a record-setting night on the opposite end of the ice. Alex Ovechkin scored two goals on Wolf to become only the third player in NHL history to score at least 20 goals in 19 consecutive seasons.
Markstrom got the nod Saturday in the team’s first game since Monday, which was the longest schedule break of the season for the Flames. The post-trade deadline woes continued for the team on Saturday, falling to the Vancouver Canucks and former Flames Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov 4–2.
The team having to commit to a pairing of Dustin Wolf and Jacob Markstrom for the rest of the season gives us an opportunity to really witness the present and future of Calgary Flames franchise goalies working in tandem.
This week, we wanted to know how many starts you think the Flames will give Dustin Wolf out of the remaining 13 games on the schedule. We asked, you answered.
Want to take part in Sunday Census polls? We send them out every week on our Twitter at @wincolumnCGY. Follow along or send in ideas for the next poll!
Remaining starts for Wolf?
We presented the below poll to our readers: How many more starts should Dustin Wolf get in the remaining Flames games? The options being: 1 to 3, 4 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10+.
1 to 3
Only 3% of respondents voted in the one-to-three starts category. Wolf has started 10 NHL games thus far in 2023–24, posting a 3.26 GAA and a .897 SV% with a 3–4–1 record in 10 games played. His advanced metrics aren’t much better, with a -8.1 goals saved above expected. The numbers aren’t amazing for the reigning AHL MVP and 2x AHL goaltender of the year, and he’d be the first to tell you.
The 22-year-old wears his heart on his sleeve and has discussed in his media availability throughout the season how high his expectations are for himself.
Despite his up-and-down start this season, it appears the majority of fans want to see what the former seventh-round pick can do to close out the season.
4 to 6
Coming in second, 29% of respondents voted for four-to-six starts. Wolf has started eight games thus far, while Markstrom has started 41. Markstrom—who is just coming off the day-to-day IR—has been dealing with a reported nagging injury as well.
Wolf started three games straight prior to Saturday, going 2–1 over the stretch with two strong outings against the Montreal Canadiens and Vegas Golden Knights.
With a back-to-back on the road finishing tonight in Buffalo, it made sense that Markstrom got the nod Saturday night.
This faction of fans thinks that after Wolf’s start Sunday night, Markstrom should predominantly take back the crease. I understand the perspective; the Flames have a fresh and young defensive core right now that hasn’t been playing a fantastic system in front of Wolf lately.
Maybe they’d be throwing the young goaltender to the wolves by giving him the crease full-time? No pun intended.
7 to 9
Our highest-voted response this week was seven-to-nine starts, at 44% of our fan vote. A large faction of our respondents believe the Flames should give Wolf the crease for the majority of the remaining games. It makes sense that Flames management would want to see Dustin take a long run at the end of the season now that the team has leaned into the retool.
Add on the tumultuous month and a half it’s been for Jacob Markstrom; flashback to a month ago when everyone thought he had his bags packed to head off to New Jersey.
After the trade deadline, Markstrom didn’t speak to the media for 10 days. His first presser certainly didn’t stray away from questions about his future after his return from IR earlier this week.
Markstrom, although edgy, is always a professional. He obviously wants to look ahead, but it seems most fans want to see him take on more of a mentorship role to finish out the season. Markstrom further stated in his press conference on March 21—when questioned about Wolf adjusting to the next level—that it took him almost 10 years to adjust to the NHL. He continued to compliment the young goaltender on the start to his pro career.
It seems only a matter of time before a passing of the torch occurs in the Calgary Flames net.
10+
Our third most-voted response was 10+ starts, still collecting 25% of total votes. The large majority of Flames fans think Wolf should be given more than seven starts, combined for 69% of responses.
Keep in mind that 10+ starts might be too much for Wolf in management’s eyes, as the Calgary Wranglers’ playoff run will feature Wolf as their starter once again for a run at the Calder Cup. With Vladar heading to IR, Wolf is considered an emergency call-up due to the Flames’ number of goaltenders on the roster.
Despite his start to the season, Wolf looked decent last week, and fans are still hopeful he can develop into an elite goaltender. Whether or not you’re in the faction of fans who want to see Wolf more to prove he can play in the NHL, we still want answers. In typical Canadian hockey market fashion, we’re impatient and want to know if he will pan out or not.
Whether you think Wolf is the future of the franchise or an undersized backup, it’s time we see this kid get a chance to play as a starter, even if it’s behind a retooling young team.
I understand, but keep Markstrom’s words in mind.
The final stretch
The Flames have 13 games remaining, with six on the road and seven at home. At 33–31–5, the Flames sit fifth in the Pacific Division heading into the homestretch of the season. With the AHL Calgary Wranglers sitting in sixth place in the Pacific Division at 31–22–5, Wolf will look to help the team on a lengthy Calder Cup run.
Wolf has once again put up strong AHL numbers this season with a 20–11–3 record, 2.43 GAA, and a 0.923 SV%. Despite the Flames looking out of the wildcard race, fans hope the team will continue to give Wolf opportunities to adjust to the NHL game. Jacob Markstrom made sure everyone knew he had two years left on his contract during his presser Thursday, but no one seems to believe he’ll be around for that long. This offseason could be the transition into the Dustin Wolf era for the Calgary Flames, and the city is behind him.
That being said, Jacob Markstrom deserves a lot of respect. He is a consummate professional and a great team guy on top of being a phenomenal goaltender this season. It would be disappointing to see his relationship in Calgary tarnished, but I would imagine he’ll look to support Dustin Wolf and the team whether he starts one more game this season or 13.
At the end of it all, the tides have shifted in Calgary, and the Craig Conroy stamp has officially been put on the Flames. Time to look ahead to 2024–25.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
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