On Feb. 28, the Philadelphia Flyers put backup goaltender Cal Petersen on waivers, making it so he’ll be playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) for a bit, pending a future call-up or another team claiming his $5 million cap hit, which is unlikely. His contract expires after the 2024-25 NHL season.
This decision wasn’t very unexpected at all. Coming off of a performance where he allowed seven goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 7-6 loss on Feb. 25, it was all but a matter of time before the decision was made. In the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he played 15 games with a .890 save percentage (SV%), 3.26 goals-against average (GAA), and a 5-8-2 record. It’s all but a guarantee that he’ll be joining them again.
To replace him, the Flyers called up goaltender Felix Sandstrom, who has spent all season in the AHL. He is 27 years old.
So, what do these decisions mean for the Flyers? What can Sandstrom provide for Philadelphia as the new backup?
Who Is Cal Petersen?
Petersen is a 29-year-old who signed an expensive contract with the Los Angeles Kings back during the 2021-22 season, but it just hasn’t panned out. The netminder has a goals saved above expected (GSAx) of minus-25 in just 53 contests since signing the deal.
Since the Kings fancied themselves as a contender entering this season, they chose to dump his contract to the Flyers in a three-way trade, sending a second-round pick, defenseman Sean Walker, and 21-year-old defenseman prospect Helge Grans to Philadelphia just to get rid of his contract — they received minor-league throw-ins Kevin Connuaton and Hayden Hodgson in the deal. By any means possible, they wanted the salary cap freedom.
Petersen had the potential to turn things around, but he hasn’t done so this season with the Flyers. He’s only played in five games and went 2-2-0 in starts, but that game against the Penguins skewed his stats — his .864 SV% and 3.90 GAA do not suggest he’s capable of being an NHL backup at this time.
Who Is Felix Sandstrom?
The only other netminder with NHL experience that the Flyers have in their system is Sandstrom, so he was a natural choice. His stats with the Phantoms this season have not been sensational, posting a .882 SV%, a 3.23 GAA, but an 11-6-3 record to go with that.
It’s not like he’s always had poor results, however. He had a GSAx of 5.2 in 2021-22, which led the Flyers by a landslide. Perhaps another chance is all he needs. With a proper workload, he might be just what the Flyers need to fix their backup goaltending woes.
The Flyers, 31-22-7, have a five-point cushion for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They’ll need good goaltending if they want to clinch the playoffs like they are projected to do.
