[Signing] Flames re-sign Wolf (2 years, $850k AAV)

[Hi-Psi]

I haven't been this excited for a Flames goalie prospect since Kidd. Hopefully, this one works out better.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

I understand it's all relative and compared to other NHL salaries, this may seem underwhelming or "insulting". But, put yourself in his shoes. 23 years old and just signed a contract that will guarantee him a minimum of 1.225 million USD over the next 2 years. In isolation, that is amazing and I'm pretty sure he's quite excited about that. I know I would be.

I'm looking forward to seeing if he can do what he does at the NHL level

[Bill Bumface]

The intersection of Mike Smith and Dustin Wolf:

[Paulie Walnuts]

I am sure it fine. The deal was done by Brisson guy who tried to destroy the Hanifin trade.

If he was offended I doubt he would have signed it.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Oh man, 2-way is kind of disrespectful. Hope that doesn't hurt future negotiations. Makes it even more shocking that Vladar got his extention at that amount.

Just a bit of Jedi mind tricks to keep him hungry, the worst case scenario is he got a $205k raise to play for the Wranglers.

[Tbull8]

Whether he turns into the superstar he hope he is or not, this is awesome. One of the last picks in the draft, counted out his whole life because of his size, and he gets (at minimum) 2 more years to prove himself in the nhl. Congrats Dustin

[MrMike]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Oh man, 2-way is kind of disrespectful. Hope that doesn't hurt future negotiations. Makes it even more shocking that Vladar got his extention at that amount.

To me it's maturity and understanding he has nothing owed to him, with also knowing he's going to earn it.

The kid has all the opportunity in the world and wants his goal, 200k means their isn't a slight doubt in this kids head that he needed to fight for more money because of a "what if/I better fight for as much as I can now"

The kid is going to take it and nothing will stop him.

[Dion]

[transplant99]

No one should be surprised.....his NHL #s are really not good.

Its a show me deal and hopefully he nails it.

[UKflames]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Oh man, 2-way is kind of disrespectful. Hope that doesn't hurt future negotiations. Makes it even more shocking that Vladar got his extention at that amount.

Another one of those buzzwords that people like to throw around at the moment, respect. I was always taught that respect was earned, not given.

He has earned that at the AHL level but yet to get there at the NHL level, and this contract gives him the opportunity to do that.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by transplant99

No one should be surprised.....his NHL #s are really not good.

Its a show me deal and hopefully he nails it.

This is going to be a problem this season. The Flames roster is not going to be conducive to goalies posting strong numbers, so if the view is limited to those - it won’t speak to the success of Wolf/Vladar/Cooley (if they have any).

The Flames have one of the absolute worst rosters in the league. Our goalies aren’t going to post strong numbers, and that needs to be viewed in the context of where the team is.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Fire

Seems a bit disrespectful for a guy that might be your future #1 goalie. I would have offered over a bit over 1 million/yr.

That “might be” is a fairly important element…

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Oh man, 2-way is kind of disrespectful. Hope that doesn't hurt future negotiations. Makes it even more shocking that Vladar got his extention at that amount.

These tales are always so embarrassing. Oh no, the poor professional athletes who play one of the most physical sports in the world, and make absolute bank doing it… we better tip toe around their egotistical feelings about money… Jesus Christ.

[Enoch Root]

There is absolutely nothing disrespectful about this deal. It is pretty standard for someone in his position. The important thing is opportunity, and he will be getting a tremendous amount of that. If he plays well, he will never see the AHL again, and the two-way is meaningless. If he doesn't play well, and finds himself back in the AHL, that's on him, and the contract will apply accordingly.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Oh man, 2-way is kind of disrespectful. Hope that doesn't hurt future negotiations. Makes it even more shocking that Vladar got his extention at that amount.

Not really. The Flames goalies are going to get absolutely chewed up this season and might be better to slide Wolf back to the AHL for the season if he gets overwhelmed.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

This is going to be a problem this season. The Flames roster is not going to be conducive to goalies posting strong numbers, so if the view is limited to those - it won’t speak to the success of Wolf/Vladar/Cooley (if they have any).

The Flames have one of the absolute worst rosters in the league. Our goalies aren’t going to post strong numbers, and that needs to be viewed in the context of where the team is.

I'm sure management will judge him within that lens.
But fans...it will be ugly. You're right about that.

[Ba'alzamon]

Interestingly, the cap hit is slightly lower than Ignatjew's deal... but the AHL salary is much higher. More than triple.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I do think a lot of fans won't watch unless the Flames are winning, and they will probably formulate the bulk of their opinion based on Wolf's SV% and win/loss record.



However, most fans will watch, and I do think they will formulate their opinion more on what they see as opposed to the stats.



For instance, is Wolf giving up a goal on the first shot on net often? Does one squeak by him at the end of periods/games? Does he allow bad goals, or other deflating goals? Or does he provide steady goaltending with occasional elite-level saves?



This is a rebuild. There are still some fans that expect the Flames to finish somewhere close to the playoffs somehow, so if Wolf does what I expect him to do (sub .900SV%, I expect closer to .855), then perhaps some people will point the finger at Wolf (and/or Vladar) as the reason the Flames missed. However, most people are going to just watch the games, and then base their opinions on what they actually see instead of just counting stats.


Flames are built for 3-1 losses, not 10-1 losses, so that will probably help Wolf's (and Vladar's) numbers, but I would be shocked if they were even close to .900 this season. This is a team that has to work hard every night to keep it close, and they will have bad games in which turnovers at the worst time happen, and this is not a tight defence to begin with at the best of times. I actually expect that we will see an improved Wolf and Vladar (once Vladar adjusts after his surgery).


There will always be a few loud contrarian voices no matter what, and that's fine. I do think that most people will just evaluate Wolf on what they see, not just on his (ugly) stat-line this season.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Ba'alzamon

Interestingly, the cap hit is slightly lower than Ignatjew's deal... but the AHL salary is much higher. More than triple.

One of the highest 2-way AHL salaries I've seen. I think it's a recognition he may need to go to the A to get games and/or get out of harms way.

[Paulie Walnuts]

What does our AHL defence look like for that league? Is it as bad as the big club? If so it probably makes sense to keep him up and let him face NHL shooters if he is going to get shelled either way.

[Sylvanfan]

With his waiver status it gives the team a lot of flexibility to get Wolf into say 55 games if they want with 35 in the NHL and 20 in the AHL. If Cooley has a good camp any any of the potential that Kevin Woodley talks about him and Vladar might split the other 45 games type of thing, and the Flames can keep him in the NHL without needing to expose him on waivers.