The Calgary Flames have been busy this season on the trade market and if it was solely up to them, they’d have another deal in the books. Unfortunately, goaltender Daniel Vladar hasn’t been the most attractive netminder for onlooking teams. His trade value appears to be a serious concern.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Flames have made calls on Vladar and have tried to include him in trade talks. The insider notes there hasn’t been a ton of interest. The Flames have prospect Dustin Wolf who they are looking to give more NHL minutes, but at this time, Jacob Markstrom is too hot to take out of their crease. Vladar remains the backup.
The goalie market around the league is expected to be hot ahead of March 8. Still, it’s been lukewarm when it comes to the 26-year-old Czechia netminder who is signed through next season at $2.2 million and doesn’t hold any trade protection. At 6-foot-5, Vladar is a huge presence in the net, but unfortunately for everyone involved this season, that hasn’t translated to success. He’s posted a 7-7-2 record along with a 3.27 GAA and .888 Sv.%. Not exactly numbers that are jumping off the page for other teams.
Beyond Vladar, What Other Goalies are Available at This Season’s Trade Deadline?
Besides Vladar, the likes of Juuse Saros, John Gibson, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jack Campbell, Elvis Merzlikins, and Jake Allen have all been rumored to be involved in trade talks this season. As such, it will be entertaining to watch how things shake out before the deadline. It also lowers the market for a player like Vladar.
While not all of these goalies will be traded before March 8, there’s certainly a very good chance each are on a new team before the start of next season. The trade frenzy could spill over into the summer months. The likes of the Carolina Hurricanes, LA Kings, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to the goalie market of late.
The Flames are going to continue to be active ahead of the deadline as Conroy is trying to navigate re-tooling on the fly while not losing the hope of the fan base. Moving Vladar makes a ton of sense organizationally as they have Wolf waiting in the wings and can rid themselves of Vladar’s $2.2 million cap hit for next season—the only problem…lack of interest.
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