The Calgary Flames have a new starting goaltender in Jacob Markstrom, but won’t be giving up on one of their depth options either. The team has re-signed Tyler Parsons to a one-year, two-way deal worth $735K at the NHL level. That’s the qualifying offer that the Flames extended Parsons, who was not eligible for arbitration this offseason.
A second-round pick in 2016, Parsons spent the entire 2019-20 season in the ECHL, posting a .911 save percentage with the Kansas City Mavericks. He’s clearly not ready to step into a role in the NHL, but after just turning 23 last month there is still plenty of time for him to develop and improve his game.
The Flames now have some impressive depth at the position, given that not only did they bring in Markstrom but Louis Domingue as well. Prospect Dustin Wolf can go back to the WHL once again (should they have a season), meaning Parsons will need to battle with Artyom Zagidulin for the AHL backup role behind Domingue.
Of course, that’s assuming that the team isn’t forced to carry three goaltenders at the NHL level like some are speculating. If the league goes to regional bubbles, teams may want to keep a third goalie with them in case of injury. The ECHL did announce today that 13 of their teams will start play on December 11, which includes Kansas City kicking things off in the first game of the year. Whether Parsons will be on that Mavericks roster on opening night isn’t clear, but he’s a candidate given the rest of the goaltending depth in the system.
I don’t see the hype around markstrom I think Holtby is an upgrade imo. Markstrom has been in the league a decade and has 4 good seasons to his name, not impressed on that deal he signed.
4 good seasons is not enough? Should he have 10/10 good seasons since he was 20 years old on a crappy Florida team and Canucks team for most of that?