The Calgary Flames’ goaltending tandem heading into this season raised many questions. Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar have fewer than 100 NHL games of experience, adding to the fact that the team was expected to be a bottom-feeder.
Well as of right now the worries behind the Flames’ goaltending have been contested. Dustin Wolf is looking like an NHL starter, and Dan Vladar has looked solid outside of his first game against Vancouver. Devin Cooley is also putting up some strong starts in the AHL, so far recording a 0.940 save percentage and a 1.98 GAA with the Wranglers. The Flames are currently sporting a 5–0–1 start, but fans still won’t forget where the organization still stands.
Assuming Wolf and Cooley keep playing at a strong pace this season, it begs whether Vladar could be expendable? Yes, I know that many people will think that I’m killing the good vibes by asking this question, but at the end of the day hockey is still a business, and the season will always provide tough decisions for teams to make.
Vladar’s role with the Flames will get smaller
Vladar is in the final year of a two-year, $2.2 million AAV deal, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent upon expiry. While the Flames can still retain his services, does it make sense to? Wolf is clearly the goaltender of the future is Cooley is signed for another year after this one. The Flames so far have been deploying Vladar and Wolf in a 1A/1B type of strategy. While it’s likely going to be like this all season, eventually Wolf will take the reigns as the full-time number-one starter.
With how strong Cooley is playing in the minors, it makes sense to give him an NHL look. At the very least, he could turn into a serviceable backup. The team obviously won’t have three goaltenders on the NHL roster, so that leaves Vladar as the odd-man out.
Going back to how much roster turnover the Flames have experienced these last few months, trading players has been something this team has been pretty comfortable with. You also have to note that Calgary is in a rebuild, and asset management is still a huge part that will dictate the team’s outlook. Vladar’s performance also hasn’t really been worthy of an extension. While he has rebounded his struggles during the season opener, he still currently sports a 0.890 save percentage which is significantly worse than Wolf’s.
For me, it’s about giving Wolf the keys to the car. He’s still going to develop, but early signs are there for him to be a dominant goaltender in the big leagues.
Vladar likely won’t be part of the Flames’ long-term future
The point of this article is not to rip on Vladar and his time with the Flames, it’s about what his position is with the future of this team. I believe Vladar won’t be back next season and is likely traded by management before or near the trade deadline.
Going back to asset management, depending on how Vladar performs for the rest of the season, his trade value could be somewhat substantial. There’s really no reason to bring Vladar back, other than creating unnecessary competition in net.
Additionally, Vladar is 27 years old and has already established himself as an NHL backup. He hasn’t put up numbers a starting goaltender would record, so his ceiling has already been reached.
Once again, Vladar has been a serviceable player during his time in Calgary, but looking at the long-term future, there isn’t a place where he fits. If the Flames can get an asset for a player with an expiring contract, it would make more sense to do so. Even if the return for him is just a mid-round pick, I doubt the Flames would get more than what they gave up for him, which was a third.
Therefore, the team needs to send a message to Wolf. Feed him the confidence he’ll need by letting him know that he’s going to be their guy in net as they build up into an eventual contender.
