Fans, media members and the entire Calgary Flames management team have loved what goaltender Devin Cooley has brung to training camp.
He hasn’t outplayed Dustin Wolf or Dan Vladar, who are looking like they could be splitting the majority of starts this season. However, Cooley’s play and personality could be earning him an extended stay in Calgary to give the team a little more time to avoid losing the 27-year-old to another NHL team on waivers.
Cooley is a quote machine without much of a filter. Think this generation’s Craig Conroy. He’s been good on the ice, too.
Vladar made another 30 saves on Monday in a 4-3 overtime win over the Seattle Kraken. It was his third start of the preseason in which the Flames have gone an impressive 5-0-1.
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Although Wolf is widely considered the Calgary Flames’ goalie of the future, Vladar has been a solid backstop for the franchise the past couple of seasons and looks to at least be a candidate for a ‘ride-the-hot-netminder’ situation or a 1a/1b split situation with Wolf.
Cooley, though, would be a tough loss for an organization that could use him as the top ‘tender with the AHL Calgary Wranglers. So as other teams finalize their rosters for the season, hanging on to Cooley for even another week or two makes it less likely that there are open spots on other squads once they do try to stash him in the AHL.
Wolf is waiver exempt but there’s no way the Flames send him down and deny him the opportunity to find his way to a starting role in the NHL after the departure of Jacob Markstrom this summer.
Having three goaltenders is never ideal when all are healthy, but on a temporary basis, it might be something the Calgary Flames consider.
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