The Calgary Flames, perhaps taking a page from the Florida Panthers book, have created a new goaltending department in the front office, which will be led by Jordan Sigalet as Director of Goaltending. General manager Brad Treliving explained just what the department’s role in the organization will be:
The goal and mission of this change is to provide us with the best process to identify, draft, develop, procure and coach goalies for the Calgary Flames. We believe this structure and process will provide us with the best and deepest goaltending expertise throughout all parts of the organization.
Under Sigalet, who will focus on drafting and development of all the goaltenders in the organization, will be Jason Labarbera who has been named Flames Goaltending Coach. The former NHL goaltender comes to the Flames from the Calgary Hitmen where he served in a similar role for the past four years. Thomas Speer will continue to serve as a Development Goalie Coach for the Flames AHL affiliate in Stockton.
Labarbera, 40, played in 187 NHL games during his journeyman professional career, which took him through New York, Charlotte, Hartford, Los Angeles, Manchester, Vancouver, Phoenix, Edmonton, Oklahoma City, Rockford, Norfolk, Anaheim, and Lehigh Valley. He finished with a .907 save percentage at the NHL level and began work with the Hitmen almost immediately after retirement.
The Flames of course have struggled to find consistent goaltending at the NHL level for years but recently committed term and money to Jakob Markstrom in free agency. For the team to ever truly contend for another Stanley Cup they will need to find success in the crease, which Sigalet and Labarbera are now tasked with.