There's been a lot of debate about what the Calgary Flames should do with pending unrestricted free agent Karri Ramo.
On one hand he appeared in 34 games for a Flames team that surprised everyone and made the playoffs. On the other hand he posted a slightly below save percentage (.912SV%) in those games.
A case can be made for re-signing Ramo but I think the Flames may be better off letting him go.
Over the last two seasons Ramo has played in 74 games and has posted a .911SV% in that span. That's close to league average but falls short.
His very mediocre save percentage isn't a result of getting sunk by power play numbers, either.
During the 2014-15 season Ramo registered a .917SV% during 5 vs 5 play. On first glance those numbers look good but in reality that ranks him 33rd of 47 eligible goaltenders (minimum 1,000 minutes played). That's barely ahead of Jhonas Enroth, Cam Ward, Anders Lindback and Curtis McElhinney to name a few.
Jonas Hiller finished 19th in the NHL with a .926SV%, which puts him just below Jonathan Quick and Marc-Andre Fleury.
After starting almost 50% of the games for a playoff team Ramo will surely be looking to at least match the $2.75 million he's made in each of the last two seasons.
If that's the case I think the Flames would be smart to look for a cheaper option with better numbers like Michal Neuvirth or Thomas Greiss.
They could also just give the gig to Joni Ortio, who has a one-way contract for next season.
The Flames have a starting goaltender under contract at a reasonable price ($4.5M per) in Jonas Hiller so to me it doesn't make much sense to invest several million dollars in an average backup.
We'll soon find out if the Flames feel the same way.
Note: Numbers via Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com. Recent posts Flames considering changes in goal + Marcotte signs