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Chad Johnson An Important Addition To The Calgary Flames |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
The Calgary Flames' biggest priority heading into the off-season was to improve their goaltending.
It's impossible to win on a remotely consistent basis without it and no team had a worse 5 v 5 save percentage than the Flames did last season.
As such GM Brad Treliving wasted no time improving as they acquired Brian Elliott during Day 1 of the NHL draft and signed Chad Johnson just a few days later.
While the Elliott trade has garnered a lot of praise - and deservedly so - I think the Johnson signing was underrated and that he will be a more important piece than most realize.
As good as Elliott has been over the last three seasons (his worst save percentage was .917, which is still above average) he averaged just 40 games per year. Elliott's career high in games played as a professional is 55, with his highest NHL total coming in 2014-15 when he appeared in 46 regular season games with the Blues.
He has shown he can be a very good goaltender but he has never carried the load of an undisputed starter. History tells us he will probably need help and that's why Johnson was such a good addition.
In 101 NHL games Johnson has posted a very respectable .917 save percentage. He has served as a full time backup for each of the last three seasons, with his two best years coming when he was given the most opportunity.
In 2013-14 he appeared in 27 games with the Boston Bruins and posted a .925 save percentage. He had a down year in 2014-15 with the New York Islanders appearing in 19 games before bouncing back in a big way.
This past season with the Buffalo Sabres Johnson was heavily relied upon due to Robin Lehner's injury. He appeared in 45 games and more than held his own posting a very solid .920 save percentage.
It's a good bet that Johnson can provide at least average goaltending when given a decent dose of starts.
That's good news for the Flames because, playing behind Elliott, chances are he's going to get them.
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Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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