The Calgary Flames have clearly loved what they have seen from backup goaltender Dan Vladar. The two sides have agreed to a two-year extension worth a total of $4.4MM. The deal, which carries a $2.2MM average annual value, will start in 2023-24.
Vladar, 25, found his way to the Flames in 2021 by way of trade with the Boston Bruins and has appeared in 24 regular season games since. While his .906 save percentage with Calgary isn’t outstanding, he has the trust of the coaching staff. When recently asked about workload, head coach Darryl Sutter told reporters including Eric Francis of Sportsnet that he plans on giving Vladar at least one start a week – noting that there are 26 weeks in the regular season.
That 26 number would be a career-high for the third-round pick, but the Flames are committed to reducing Jacob Markstrom’s workload and making sure he’s at full health by the playoffs. The 32-year-old Markstrom is coming off a brilliant campaign but faded at the end, with a .901 save percentage in 12 postseason appearances.
A two-year deal for Vladar also allows the Flames to be patient with prospect Dustin Wolf, who took home the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s best goaltender last season but is still just 21. Wolf will likely be waiver-exempt until 2025, the same time Vladar’s deal now ends.
An extension is a solid show of faith in the young Czech netminder, but also could point to the confidence teams have in the rising salary cap. The Flames now have more than $81.7MM committed to 17 players for next season, as huge extensions for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar kick in. That said, general manager Brad Treliving is getting a nice head start on next summer. Connor Mackey is now the only roster player who is currently scheduled to be an RFA in the 2023 offseason, and Milan Lucic, Trevor Lewis, Brett Ritchie, and Michael Stone are the only pending UFAs.
That’s a bit for a back up but Darth is one heck of a back up
I hope this means that Markstrom is on his way out and they will go with Vladar and the Wolf
Vladar’s a good goalie. No question that Ullmark’s been doing the job in Boston, but I’d rather they’d kept Vladar and had that cap space available for other uses.