Calgary Flames goaltender Reto Berra made headlines and highlight reels alike this week with a spectacular bicycle kick save on Columbus Blue Jacket Jack Johnson that turned the hockey world’s attention to Calgary’s crease. But the Red Mile’s blue paint was already interesting enough.
Jarome Iginla’s departure from Calgary last season may have been the most emotionally jarring farewell in franchise history, but Miikka Kiprusoff’s retirement at the end of the summer might have been the most problematic. During his tenure with the Flames, Kiprusoff was nothing short of a workhorse, often to an alarming degree. Kiprusoff’s consistently outstanding play disguised, at least to an extent, several of Calgary’s most glaring issues, including their lack of a legitimate back-up goaltender. A variety of individuals auditioned behind Kiprusoff throughout the years, but none of them managed to truly impress. As a result, when Kipper called it a career, the Flames had to find some creative alternatives.
In search of a starter, Calgary turned to two relatively obscure netminders: 26-year-old Berra of Switzerland and 27-year-old Finn Karri Ramo. Berra spent the past several seasons in the Swiss Elite League, and signed a one-year entry level contract after his rights were acquired by the Flames as part of the Jay Bouwmeester deal with St. Louis. Berra was also instrumental in the Swiss national team’s silver-medal finish at the 2013 IIHF World Championship, going undefeated in four games with a 1.00 GAA. Ramo, who has also spent parts of three seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, signed a two-year $5.5 million contract after several highly successful seasons in the KHL. The newcomers eventually secured the two goaltending positions on the Flames roster, ousting veteran Joey MacDonald to the Abbotsford Heat in the process.
So far the results of this experiment have been inconclusive. Calgary’s goaltending numbers tell a woeful tale. The Flames are last in the league in goals against per game, and second-last in goals allowed overall. Both goalies have GAAs upwards of 3.40 and save percentages below .890. In seven starts, MacDonald had three wins, while Berra and Ramo have combined for just four in 16 contests.
But as Berra demonstrated with his sensational stop, there have also been flashes of brilliance in the Calgary net. Berra, in particular, seems to be building confidence and momentum. He has started eight of the Flames’ last nine games, including a pair of overtime triumphs against Chicago and Winnipeg, and made more than 40 saves in each of those wins. Head coach Bob Hartley also identified Berra’s 32-save performance as the sole reason that the Flames managed to extract a point from an overtime loss against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 12. It also doesn’t help that the Flames have been without team captain and top shut-down man Mark Giordano since Oct. 21. His absence has had a noticeable and highly negative effect on the team’s defensive performance.
The Flames’ goaltending situation is an intriguing and precarious one. The organization would love for Berra to develop into a bona fide starter, and it could very well happen. But it’s far from being a sure thing. Karri Ramo will likely get more opportunities to prove himself before Berra secures the starting job, but he’ll have to make the most of them if he wants the number one role. Meanwhile, in Abbotsford, 22-year-old Joni Ortio is 8-0-0 with a 2.54 GAA and a .921 save percentage for the Heat. If Calgary’s goaltending numbers don’t improve, Ortio – coincidentally a native of Kiprusoff’s own Turku, Finland – might see some action.
Kiprusoff’s retirement left an empty throne in the Calgary crease, and while there are several heirs apparent, no clear successor has yet been distinguished. Regardless of its exact plot-line, the drama unfolding in the Flames’ net is likely be an intriguing one for the remainder of the season, and a pivotal one for the future of the franchise.
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Photo Credit: Stuart Dryden
