Now that Miikka Kiprusoff has retired, the Calgary Flames’ goaltending situation has become cloudy.
Kiprusoff will no longer be there and now, the Flames must go in a new direction when it comes to their goaltending. Right now, that direction appears to be headed towards Karri Ramo and Joey MacDonald.
For the past nine seasons, “Kipper” was the Flames’ rock as both the team’s best netminder and perhaps the club’s most valuable player. Year in and year out, the 36-year-old was also the Flames’ most consistent player.
Let’s take a look at what the Flames’ netminding tandem heading into this season:
Karri Ramo
The Flames are probably hoping that Ramo, 27, will be the second coming of Kiprusoff.
That probably will not happen. With that said, in Ramo, the Flames have a young goaltender that is quick, moves well in the crease, is young enough that he can learn to get better, and is a netminder who had a lot of success playing with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
With Avangard Omsk this past season, Ramo went 26-9-5 with a 2.00 GAA, .929 save percentage and four shutouts. Ramo was eighth in the league with that save percentage and should he grab hold of the starting position in Calgary this upcoming season, he will certainly have a lot of pucks coming his way.
While he has found success overseas, Ramo did not find that his first time around in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In parts of three seasons, Ramo played in 48 games and won just 11 of them while having goals against averages of well over three and save percentages well under .900.
However, with his recent success in Russia, the Flames thought it would be smart to sign Ramo to a two-year deal worth $5.8 million. At the time of the signing, Flames’ general manager Jay Feaster told the team’s web site that he believed that Ramo was a solid depth signing for his hockey club and that he had a lot of potential to be more.
“Karri Ramo provides us with greater depth at a critical position,” said Jay Feaster. “Ramo has NHL experience and is one of the top goaltenders in Europe. His work ethic and dedication are first rate, and he is just starting to enter the prime of his career. We believe he has the tools and mental make-up necessary to be a number one goaltender in the NHL, and are pleased to add him to our organization.”
With Kiprusoff out of the picture, Ramo is no longer just a depth signing for the Flames. He will more than likely be the number one goaltender this year and the Flames will need him to be at his best.
Luckily, we recently saw a goaltender turn a losing club into a winning club. This goaltender was Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets and if Ramo can work hard and be ready this time in his second go around in the NHL, there is a possibility that he can write a similar script to Bobrovsky’s.
Joey MacDonald
In MacDonald, the Flames have a true backup goaltender in every sense of the word.
During the off-season, the Flames signed MacDonald to a one-year extension worth $925,000. MacDonald may not have flash or pizzazz but according to The Hockey News, MacDonald is someone that could help the Flames this upcoming season.
This is how THN describes MacDonald when it comes to his assets: “An accomplished goalkeeper at lower levels, he has the ability to step up at the highest level and perform solidly in short stints. Plays better when facing more shots.”
When he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings during the 2011-12 season, MacDonald was an important part of the club’s 23-game winning streak at the Joe Louis Arena. MacDonald established a personal best seven-game winning streak and in that season, went 8-5-1 with a 2.16 GAA along with a .912 save percentage.
Should Ramo go down with an injury, the Flames can count on MacDonald to settle things down until Ramo is healthy enough to return to the nets.
Life without Kipper
The Flames may have a lot of questions heading into the upcoming season but let’s not be quick when it comes to judging the club’s goaltending tandem.
Both Ramo and MacDonald can help the Flames going forward and who knows, maybe both can find a way to win hockey games for a club that is going to need plenty of them in the ever competitive Western Conference.
