On Oct. 3, the Philadelphia Flyers put goaltender Cal Petersen on waivers, meaning that he is essentially guaranteed to play with the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as no club should balk at his $5 million cap hit for the next two seasons.
With that decision being made, the backup role for the Flyers is just a bit clearer. What does this mean for Petersen, and who could earn the job?
Petersen’s Future With Philadelphia
Now that Petersen has been sent down, it becomes even less likely that he becomes the goaltender that he once was that allowed him to earn a $15 million contract in the first place. He was fantastic after allowing four goals in the first 10 minutes of a preseason game against the New Jersey Devils, but the team nonetheless felt that he was better off in the AHL. It seems reasonable, as he was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings as a cap dump this summer, but it’s still difficult to see a netminder trying to re-establish himself lose this battle.
The Flyers made it pretty clear that he is one of their last-resort options in goal. While he might never have had any trade value, if he had a decent season in a backup role then there would have potentially been a team that would come calling for him with some salary retention involved.
To put it bluntly, his goals saved above expected (GSAx) last season was bad. The statistic tracks how many more goals a netminder is allowing versus what they should on average, and the stat essentially takes defense out of the equation. With how disappointing his season was, a bounce back would have been all but a guarantee. Instead, he really can’t prove himself with the Flyers if he is stuck in the AHL.
There have been numerous goaltenders in the past who have changed the story of their career if they were simply given an opportunity. Using GSAx to track how poor a goaltender was, goalies like a young Brian Elliott and Mike Smith went from some of the worst goalies in the league according to the statistic to some of the best in the entire NHL in the matter of a single season.
Just last season, all eight goaltenders that were younger than 30 that switched teams and had a GSAx in the negatives went well in the positives. This list includes Filip Gustavsson, Alexandar Georgiev, and Ilya Samsonov. All three of these goalies are around Petersen’s age, and all could play upwards of 50 games. Even if they seem older, netminders are salvageable if they are allowed to stay in the NHL. The Flyers’ netminder was not, so the team is seemingly not even giving the experiment a shot.
Petersen could potentially be called up in the future, but he was the first of the Flyers’ three backup candidates to be sent down. If he gets a chance, it would likely be due to injuries or because of massive underperformance.
The Case For Sam Ersson
Before camp started, Sam Ersson was the probable backup for the team behind Carter Hart. After having a short but impressive rookie campaign, there is a shot that he becomes the backup of the future, and potentially develops into a starter at some point, as well.
Last season, Ersson was much better than his GSAx, save percentage (SV%), or even goals-against average (GAA) might suggest. As a starter, he put up a 6-3-0 record with a .904 SV% and a 2.98 GAA. With one game where he gave up seven goals on 36 shots versus the Devils, this put a dent in an otherwise clean stat line. He would be sitting at a much better .918 SV% with a 2.52 GAA if that game were set aside.
Ersson, now with some experience in the NHL, is more than ready to take on a backup role in the NHL. In fact, if Hart were to suffer an injury, he might be capable of taking on the starting job. He only proved it for one season, but he gave some optimism for Flyers fans regarding their backup with his great performances.
In the preseason as a whole, Ersson has been great but did have some good defense in front of him. As of now, he seems to be the favorite to earn the job.
The Case For Felix Sandstrom
Now that the backup goalie battle is down to just two, Felix Sandstrom could be a sneaky good backup. What goes against him was how he performed last season in the NHL, holding a 3-12-3 record, a .880 SV%, a 3.72 GAA, and a GSAx of minus-11.8, which was worse than Petersen’s. With that season behind him, he could be a genuinely smart pick for the backup if he earns it.
In preseason, Sandstrom didn’t really get the benefit of the doubt from his defense, but he was good overall. In past experience in the NHL, he was actually very good. He had a GSAx of 5.2 in just five games with the team in the 2021-22 season, putting him among some of the best backups in the league.
It seems as though last season was just a setback for Sandstrom. There is a world where he earns the backup role if he plays well in the Flyers’ final preseason game on Oct. 5 against the New York Islanders. Given the fact that Ersson was the full-time starter in their most recent preseason match, it would seem natural for him to get another shot as well.
With lots of depth at the position, the Flyers are actually in a good spot in terms of their goaltending. For a team lacking definitive strength in other areas of the lineup, the netminders of the Orange and Black can potentially give them an edge. Now, there is more clarity in how that could play out.
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