Seven months ago, it looked as though Cal Petersen’s time in the NHL was close to running out, having been sent to the Philadelphia Flyers as a salary cap dump in the Ivan Provorov trade.
Instead, unforeseen circumstances vaulted the 29-year-old from the AHL back to the NHL. With Sam Ersson now serving as the de facto starter for the foreseeable future and lacking other options for backup goalies, the Flyers need Petersen to seize this second chance more than ever.
Petersen knows this is an opportunity that won’t knock at his door twice.
“I obviously understand the opportunity,” Petersen acknowledged bluntly after his win against the Seattle Kraken. “It’s one that I’ve waited for for a long time. I’m still going to keep that day-to-day mentality, but again, it’s an opportunity I don’t want to let go to waste.”
The Flyers have already doubled down on their commitment to Ersson as their starter, but are weighing the risks of overworking the standout rookie.
“Cal’s going to play; we’re not going to burn out Sam,” head coach John Tortorella said on Friday. “We got to be really careful there. Cal will play. I know where it’s going to be; I’m not going to talk about it now.”
The good news for Petersen is that, even though he won’t play a lot, he’ll play with some regularity. Tortorella and the Flyers appear to have already planned starts in advance for the Waterloo, Iowa native, given Ersson maintains his clean bill of health for the rest of the year.
“It’s been a challenging couple of years, but I think it’s made me a lot stronger,” Petersen said of his last years with the Los Angeles Kings.
He had a disappointing 2021-22 campaign for the Kings, going 20-14-2 with only a .895 save percentage to show for it. Petersen did, however, come up with a career-high three shutouts. The 2022-23 season saw things snowball further when Petersen stumbled to a .868 save percentage and 3.75 GAA, which forced the Kings to send him down to the Ontario Reign in the AHL.
After a brief stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Petersen is back in the NHL with the Flyers with the opportunity of a lifetime – one that will permanently alter the course of his career.
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