Quote:
Originally Posted by calgARI
It was my impression that he was the #3 goaltender as well based on playing time. Maybe he was injured or something? But I would have had to think that if the Lockout went the full season, Irving may have been loaned somewhere else.
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As he had to clear waivers in order to play as a full member of the Heat he was signed by them to a PTO for the season so he could get some playtime. I think a PTO in the AHL limits the player to 10 or 15 games (I'd have to look it up). He was third in games played because unlike the other two he had a finite number of allowable games to play and would have been better used later in the season if the lockout went for the full year, and it made more sense to play their actual full time goaltenders more often.
He wasn't the third goalie based on them being better, it was a contract constraint. The fact that he didn't show well in the few games he played though made it appear as he was the third stringer.