The Calgary Flames have drawn parallels to the mid 2010s era Flames teams, and for good reason. They’re in a rebuild, have some exciting prospects coming up the pipeline, and are generally not expected to be anywhere close to a good team this season. However, another similarity between the 2024-25 and the 2014-15 iterations of the Flames is their situation in goal.
Dan Vladar, Dustin Wolf, and Devin Cooley are all vying for NHL roles, and of course, there are only two jobs to go around.
So far though three preseason games, absolutely nothing has been solved, and if anything, the controversy between the pipes is only getting more intense.
Impressive showings across the board
Wolf and Cooley have both played a full 60 minutes, while Vladar has played 40 minutes in the preseason so far. Each has done an incredible job in net.
| Goalie | TOI | SA | SV | SV% | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dustin Wolf | 60:00 | 34 | 33 | .971 | 2.75 |
| Dan Vladar | 39:42 | 19 | 18 | .947 | 0.78 |
| Devin Cooley | 60:00 | 47 | 44 | .936 | 0.76 |
Every goalie has an impressive save percentage, and every goalie has saved more than expected in their respective starts.
Wolf’s numbers are the most impressive, saving the highest percentage of shots and a whopping +2.75 goals above expected. His start came against the Seattle Kraken in the Flames’ preseason opener, and the Kraken iced a veteran lineup including Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle, Jared McCann, and Oliver Bjorkstrand. The most NHL ready defenseman he had in front of him was Brayden Pachal, too, so it was a very strong showing for Wolf.
Cooley’s performance is perhaps the most surprising though. He suited up against the Edmonton Oilers last night on the road, with the Oilers icing Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard. The Flames definitely had the worse roster on paper, yet ended with a 6-3 victory.
Vladar is coming off offseason hip surgery, but didn’t look rusty at all. He started against the Oilers at home, definitely against the worst roster out of the three goalies so far, but still allowed just one goal and stopped 0.78 goals above expected.
A heaty preseason
This Flames preseason already has a ton of intrigue with lots of players fighting for NHL roster spots. From the looks of it though, the most interesting battle has a long road to go before it gets resolved. It’s impossible to say which two goalies will be on the opening night roster at this stage.
As the preseason wears on, the battle continues.
