Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
The Calgary Flames took care of some housekeeping on Monday, signing goaltender Artyom Zagidulin to a one-year contract extension.
It is a two-way deal that carries a $700,000 base salary in the NHL and a $125,000 salary at the AHL level, per CapFriendly.com.
While his NHL salary is actually lower than a year ago, Zagidulin is set to make $55,000 more in Stockton during the 2020-21 season; a solid trade off considering he seems destined for steady AHL duty.
Zagidulin’s debut season in Stockton was a mixed bag, to say the least. He posted a solid 16-7-4 record while splitting the net with Jon Gillies. That’s the good news.
The bad news is he didn’t exactly stop pucks at a high clip. Zagidulin posted an .898 save percentage over 30 games. That was ‘good’ for 40th among 49 qualified goaltenders, and well below what Gillies put up (.907 SV%).
Zagidulin’s ceiling doesn’t appear overly high but I’m not surprised to see him get a new deal. He is only 24 so there is still some runway for him. David Rittich posted a .889 SV% in the AHL at 25 – albeit over a smaller sample – afterall.
There’s also the fact Rittich is the only other pro goaltender under contract for next season.
Cam Talbot needs a new deal and could seek a raise, or more opportunity, in free agency. Former highly touted prospects Tyler Parsons, and Jon Gillies, are without contracts and don’t have much of a future. Meanwhile, I don’t think Nick Schneider has shown enough to earn even an AHL contract.
Keeping Zagidulin in the organization as the No. 3/4 ensures GM Brad Treliving doesn’t have to sign any and every goaltender he can get his hands on this off-season.
If Zagidulin has another ‘meh’ campaign, they can walk away knowing Dustin Wolf is making the jump to pro hockey.
stats via capfriendly.com, hockeydb.com, and theahl.com.
Recent posts:
Most underrated player on the Flames?
The NHL has finalized its playoff format
Three ways the Flames could benefit from the long pause
Calgary Flames expected to draw Winnipeg Jets in expanded playoffs
Mark Giordano: long underrated, and long underpaid
Three potential platoon targets for the Flames
Ranking Calgary Flames contracts: Part 2
Ranking Calgary Flames contracts: Part 1
Flames sign Dustin Wolf to ELC
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»