Flyers Sign Goalie Eetu Makiniemi; What it Means

Now that Makiniemi is under contract with the Flyers, he is more than likely destined to form a tandem with Petersen at the AHL level for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Top prospect Alexei Kolosov is still M.I.A. and has not reported to training camp as he stays home in Belarus, so the Flyers needed a contingency plan in goal for the AHL and NHL levels.

Petersen was, in theory, Philadelphia’s get-out-of-jail-free card with his massive $5 million cap hit, since it was highly unlikely any NHL team would willingly take that on through waivers. John Tortorella and the Flyers tried to deputize Petersen in emergency situations last year, but the former Los Angeles Kings goaltender could not hold things together.

Petersen allowed four goals on 33 shots between two games against Seattle and Boston, and in his last start for the Flyers, Petersen surrendered seven goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a devastating 7-6 loss.

The 29-year-old also allowed five goals in a Nov. 4 loss to the Kings, so those two games alone could have made the difference between the Flyers making the Stanley Cup playoffs and missing by four points as they did.

Makiniemi has shown that he is at least passable at the NHL level in a small sample size; the Finn went 1-0-1 with the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23, posting a 2.13 GAA and a .906 save percentage.

The 25-year-old – still fairly young – played most of his hockey in the AHL last season for the San Jose Barracuda, going 8-8-0 with a 3.14 GAA and .900 save percentage, though he finished 2023-24 with three shutouts in his last five games, including two back-to-back in his final two appearances.

Since Makiniemi is still waivers-exempt, it’s likely we’ve seen the last of Petersen in the Orange and Black in a competitive game, barring something catastrophic.