Flames Could Make Early Season Goalie Swap

The Calgary Flames seem to be headed towards a trade in net already. Dustin Wolf is the only goalie that the team appears to feel confident in starting, and the Flames would like to compete for a playoff spot this season. If they continue playing Wolf every game, he is going to be worn down.

On 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman discussed the Flames' goaltending and said, "I think they're looking at something in goal. I wouldn't be surprised if they're working on something where one of their goalies goes out, another goalie comes in."

Some teams have an abundance of goaltending where some have had to go through waivers already, but the Flames have Devin Cooley currently backing up Wolf with Ivan Prosvetov in the AHL. Prosvetov was expected to be the backup in the NHL, but not only did he not make the team out of camp, he struggled mightily in his first AHL game this season.

Wolf shouldn't start more than 60 games, and that means the Flames are going to have to find someone that they trust can help get the team wins when he isn't playing. With Wolf starting a back-to-back already, as well as the first four games of the season, even after two games with a sub-.900 SV%, a trade could be on the horizon sooner than later.

My thinking is that there isn't too much of a preference whether the Flames would trade Prosvetov or Cooley in the goalie swap (with extra assets), as the other would just be in the AHL for the majority or all of this season. Calgary is fortunate to have a starter like Wolf already to take on so much responsibility in net at a young age, but help is needed.