The howls will keep coming at the Calgary Saddledome as the Flames re-signed goaltender Dustin Wolf to a two-year extension on Tuesday.
The deal will pay him $850,000 annually, with year one being a two-way deal with a guaranteed $375,000 hitting his bank account, according to PuckPedia.
The #Flames signed 23 y/o RFA G Dustin Wolf to 2 year $850K Cap Hit Deal
Year 1 850K NHL, 275K Minors, 375K Guaranteed
Year 2 850K 1-way
893 SV% in 17 NHL GP
Rep'd by Pat Brisson @CAAHockey https://t.co/GUzUxNT2Zh
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 30, 2024
Drafted in the seventh round of the 2019 draft, Wolf got his first true taste of the NHL last season, playing 17 games and making 15 starts, posting a 7-7 record, .893 save percentage and a 3.16 goals against average. Turning pro in 2021-22, he spent that season with the Flames’ then AHL-affiliate Stockton Heat, posting a 33-9-5 record, a .924 save percentage and a 2.35 goals-against average.
He’s spent the majority of his time since in the AHL, and across 141 games, he’s posted a 97-32-10 record, a .926 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against average as one of the best goalies in that league.
In fact, he’s been so good he’s earned himself a number of accolades there. In his rookie season, he was named to the best goaltender in the league, named to the All-Rookie team and the first All-Star team, while racking up the most wins in the league.
In 2022-23, he once again won the best goaltender award, while posting the best save percentage (.932), goals against average (2.09), the most shutouts (seven) and the most wins (42).
He hasn’t been able to parlay that success into the NHL yet, but Wolf is one of the best young goaltenders in the world, so it could be just a matter of time before he breaks out.
Bret Hedican joins AHL San Diego
Former NHL defenceman Bret Hedican is back in the pro ranks, hired by the AHL’s San Diego Gulls as a player development analyst.
Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 10th round of the 1988 draft, Hedican went on to play over 1000 NHL games with the Blues, the Vancouver Canucks, the Florida Panthers, the Anaheim Ducks and most notably, the Carolina Hurricanes, where he won the 2006 Stanley Cup.
Retiring after the 2008-09 season, Hedican has spent the last 15 years as a broadcaster with the San Jose Sharks, most recently as the colour analyst for their local broadcast team.
This won’t be his first time dipping his toes into an organization as a staff member, however, as he served as the video coach for the US Women’s World Championship team in 2012-13, where they won a gold medal.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
