After the Calgary Flames saw what Dustin Wolf could do in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the past two seasons and play very well when he got his shot at the end of the season in the NHL, the writing was on the wall that Dan Vladar had to be dealt this offseason. Without a lot to go right, Jacob Markstrom is not the goalie being traded of the two, and he is the more proven goaltender to mentor Wolf anyways this coming season.
Vladar is a solid goalie, who’s on the younger side with a good amount of potential. He and the Flames have just found themselves in an inconvenient, tough spot in net. It’s not often that a goalie as dominant as Wolf forces himself into an NHL role without the team first opening up space or an injury occurring. When Vladar was signed to a two-year, $2.2 million annual average value (AAV) deal before the start of the 2022-23 season, Calgary thought that would be a good timeframe to allow Wolf to properly mature and be ready for the NHL by the time the contract was up. Now, before the contract could even get started, there’s no doubt he’s being shopped.
The Flames would have had an easier time executing a trade before free agency, as many/all teams have their goalies set for the upcoming season. There is another factor to consider, as many teams who were looking for a new goalie would have wanted to see what’s available in free agency without having to pay the price of acquiring Vladar. The leverage the Flames have is their goalie is signed for two years at a low AAV and is a capable 1B/backup goalie.
Does Any Team Need a 1B or Backup Goalie?
After looking around and having discussions on certain teams’ needs at this point in the offseason, it appears the market has dried up in terms of potential destinations for the Flames to move Vladar, even though he stole the show early last season. Below I will break up the teams into categories based on their goaltending situation.
First, we’ll start with teams that are set and won’t even be in contact with the Flames about Vladar:
- Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs.
This group of teams has either two or three capable goalies readily available for their team and has no use for another one, at least not for the coming season.
Next are teams that might need a goalie if one of theirs is traded in the next couple of months:
- Anaheim Ducks, Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins.
This group is small, but John Gibson, Connor Hellebuyck, and Linus Ullmark/Jeremy Swayman have all been brought up in trade discussions throughout the offseason, so far. If one of them were to be moved, they would not be headed to Calgary, but the Flames would be able to offer up a partial band-aid in net for them at a much lower cost.
Finally, these are the teams that have questionable tandems/goalie depth that might find a use for Vladar:
- San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning.
This group is interesting because many of them have different situations that could happen for them to show interest in someone like Vladar. The Lightning just don’t have a backup goalie, but also don’t have a ton of cap space. I don’t believe that they will be comfortable heading into the season with Jonas Johansson as their backup, even if he does get into 20-25 games.
The Sharks have a tandem in Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen, neither of whom I’d trust to get the job done. This team isn’t trying to win many games, so that might be the strategy. I’d argue Vladar is better than both of them and would have a good chance to get a lot of playing time there if the Sharks need the help eventually.
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The others have an iffy backup option at best, and things are still subject to change in the coming months. The Kraken have Chris Driedger and Joey Daccord, but Driedger spent last season injured and in the AHL, while Daccord has very little experience and not great NHL numbers. The Canucks have Spencer Martin, who was demoted to the AHL last season due to his play, and Arturs Silovs, who isn’t yet NHL-ready. The Blackhawks have a tandem of Petr Mrazek and Arvid Soderblom, but there are obvious concerns with Mrazek’s health, and Soderblom would have a great weight on his shoulders without any extra help. Finally, the Blue Jackets have Daniil Tarasov but could look to upgrade to get Elvis Merzlikins the help he needs as the team tries to get back in the win column.
Flames Might Have to Bite the Bullet & Wait
The Flames have an urgency to move Vladar, but they cannot force something and get little to no value back in return. He should be valued at a second-round pick/high third-round pick or equivalent, and anything less during this time of lineup restructuring would be another loss.
If need be, the Flames might have to bite the bullet and wait until an opportunity arises for them to make a trade, whether that be from an injury to one of the goalies on a team that is currently set in net or another club who already might need the help (from “‘We just know he’s coming’: What’s next for Flames goalie prospect Dustin Wolf?”, Calgary Sun, July 2, 2023). This will force Wolf to start the season in the AHL, even though he’s proven he’s the best goalie in the league already and deserves a call-up. For Calgary’s sake, they better hope they can move Vladar for a solid return before the season, and the team isn’t wasting Wolf’s talent in the AHL for too long, if at all.