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Searching for a solid platoon option to pair with David Rittich, the Calgary Flames made a one-year, $2.75 million gamble on Cam Talbot last summer. It paid off in spades.
The 32-year-old appeared in 26 games and posted a .919 save percentage, which was well above the league average of .905.
Talbot mostly served as the backup but did take the ball and run with it on a couple of occasions when Rittich stumbled.
While it is possible the Flames retain Talbot, it’s also possible he looks to capitalize and turn his quality season into a better opportunity elsewhere. Whether he wants more money, more games, or a combination of the two, he can probably find it on the open market.
If Talbot leaves, here are a few free agent candidates to replace him in the 1B role. I should note that these aren’t the three *best* goaltenders, but rather three that could fit into the role they’re looking to fill at a reasonable price.
Anton Khudobin
Khudobin probably wouldn’t offer much savings – if any – over Talbot but a strong case could be made for him as the best platoon option out there.
He has played in at least 30 games three consecutive years. Khudobin’s *worst* save percentage was .913, with him finishing above .920 the other two seasons.
His numbers at 5v5 were especially strong. Of the 76 most used goaltenders in the league from 2017-20, none posted a higher save percentage than Khudobin in that game state.
Khudobin also sat 14th in HD SV% so it’s not like he can’t handle a tougher workload, although Calgary is usually pretty stingy defensively (they’re 8th in HD shots against/60 over the last two seasons).
If the Flames don’t mind spending in the ~$3 million range to ensure they have high quality goaltending on a nightly basis, Khudobin is an attractive option.
Aaron Dell
I’m sure a lot of people will cringe seeing that name. Hear me out.
The 31-year-old managed a .907 save percentage (above average!) this season while appearing in 33 games.
San Jose, surprisingly, was an injury plagued train wreck that finished 25th in expected goals against per 60. They were terrible defensively in front of Dell and he mostly held up.
What’s especially encouraging is Dell stopped his fair share of quality shots. He posted an .826 save percentage vs high-danger looks at 5v5. Robin Lehner, John Gibson, Jaroslav Halak, Marc-Andre Fleury, Frederik Andersen and, yes, Cam Talbot were among the many to finish below Dell in that category.
I’m not saying he is the best thing since sliced bread but the guy has posted a save percentage league average or better in three of his four seasons, and just did so again while starting a career high 30 games.
I think he could give the Flames serviceable goaltending out of the backup spot and at a cheaper price than most options out there.
Craig Anderson
I’m not as crazy about Anderson – he is likely a one-year stop gap – but a marriage between him and the Flames could make sense for both parties.
From Anderson’s perspective, he has made a lot of money in his career (~$38 million) and spent the last few seasons being hung out to dry on losing teams in Ottawa. I could see him wanting to find a more competitive side to finish out his career and Calgary would fit the criteria.
From Calgary’s side of things, Anderson came very close to a league average save percentage while playing for one of the league’s worst defensive teams. He appears to have *some* gas left in the tank.
Anderson is also a team-first guy, he is experienced, and he has played in at least 34 games in each of the last seven seasons.
The Flames can probably bank on him showing up and providing respectable play if something were to happen to Rittich.
Info via CapFriendly.com, NaturalStatTrick.com, and Hockey-Reference.com.
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