A little context:
Steve Mason was the last goalie to win the Calder, and he won it primarily because he carried his team into the playoffs (their first playoff appearance). He easily beat out Bobby Ryan who finished with 31 goals and 57 points. (A 26 year old Pekka Rinne, who's team missed the playoffs, finished 4th.)
Stat-wise, Mason was 16th for all goalies save percentage and 10th in wins--although when he was winning he was fantastic--and the Blue Jackets first playoff appearance was a big deal. But his numbers didn't suggest he was anywhere close to best in the league (Tim Thomas won the Vezina with a .933 save percentage; Mason finished second in that vote and 4th in MVP votes).
Raycroft won it in 2004 with a .926 save percentage and 10th in wins, helping his Bruins win the Northeast division. He beat out Michael Ryder's 25 goals and 63 points. His numbers were good and he helped his team to a big accomplishment.
On the just missed side, Binnington finished second in Calder voting to Elias Petterson's 28 goals and 66 points. He helped his team win the Stanley Cup in 2019 and finished fourth in the league with a .927 save percentage and the best GAA (1.89). His biggest knock was he only played 32 games that year and Raycroft and Mason both played the majority of their team's games.
Stuart Skinner finished second in Calder votes in 2023 because the NHL was shocked any goalie could put up more than a .900 save percentage behind that team.
Wolf's got a really good shot at the Calder (if another rookie doesn't do what Crosby did), as long as he continues to play a lot of games, is one of the top goalies in the league and he's important in helping his team do something somewhat unexpected, in Calgary's case, the playoffs, as that creates the noise that gets attention.
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