Meet New Philadelphia Flyers Goalie Cal Petersen

A lot of the talk right now concerning the Philadelphia Flyers revolves around the recent Ivan Provorov trade or rumors that Carter Hart may soon be traded. Involved in both of these discussions is the recent acquisition of Cal Petersen, the former Los Angeles Kings goalie. What does his coming to Philly mean for Hart, as well as other goalies like Sam Ersson and Felix Sandstrom? More importantly, what does it mean for the Flyers, as well as Petersen himself?

Who is Cal Petersen?

Calvin Petersen, most commonly known as Cal Petersen, is a 28 year old goalie from Waterloo, Iowa. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres after posting fairly good numbers for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL (2011-2013). He played three seasons for Notre Dame (2014-17) before deciding to forgo his senior season and turn pro. However, negotiations between Petersen and the Sabres ended with the two sides not reaching an agreement. Petersen became a free agent and signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the LA Kings.

In first two seasons, 2018-19 and 2019-2020, Cal Petersen was relegated to backup duty. Starting in 2020, Kings’ franchise legend Jonathan Quick began to suffer injuries and issues typically associated with an aging, worn-down goalie. Petersen then signed to a three-year, $15 million contract in 2021.

However, this season Petersen began to struggle, and as he struggled and Quick battled injuries, Petersen started to share the net with Pheonix Copley. Soon, Copley was made the starter and Quick was traded to Columbus for Joonas Korpisalo. Petersen was sent to the AHL to play for the Ontario Reign to close out the season after showing no signs of turning his play around.

With the Kings intent on trying to retain the free agency-bound Korpisalo, and Copley intrenched as the other half of the goalie duo, Cal Petersen became the odd man out. Petersen’s contract at $5 million made him rather expensive as a third-choice goalie. With the Kings strapped for cash, it became rather necessary to find a way to send Petersen on his way to a new home. The Flyers took him on as a salary dump, along with defenseman Sean Walker, to free up cap space for the Kings.

Overall, Petersen’s career record is 44-42-10, with a 2.92 GAA (3.75 last year) and he boasts a 0.905 save percentage (.868 last year) to pair with four career shutouts.

What Does This Mean for the Flyers?

It is still unclear what Cal Petersen’s arrival here means. Is he here to be a backup to Carter Hart, albeit an expensive backup, as opposed to Felix Sandstrom or Sam Ersson? Is he here to be a backup for Sandstrom or Ersson if they become the starter and Hart is traded? Is this an insurance policy if Hart doesn’t want to sign an extension at the end of this season?

All of this is just conjecture and we won’t know for sure until another domino falls. At a $5 million price tag, Cal Petersen is being paid starter money. That’s over $1 million more than the Flyers are paying Hart. Maybe Peterson needed a change of scenery. Petersen had save percentages lower than 0.900 in each of the last two seasons, and the last time he had better than 0.900, he stumbled to a 9-18-5 record as the Kings faltered in front of him. There is still time to turn it around. Some goalies get better with age, but Petersen’s age is another concern in itself. He will be 29 when the season begins, whereas Hart will be 25, Sandstrom will be 26, and Ersson will be 24. Hart is at the stage in his career where he won’t need a veteran goalie to advise him, like Martin Jones and Brian Elliott did.

Cal Petersen’s acquisition is confusing from a hockey perspective. He’s older and pricey. That doesn’t seem to fit in with a team that is going younger and trying to get cheaper. There is every bit of hope to believe that Sandstrom and Ersson would improve this season with a full year of NHL work behind them, so maybe Petersen just hits waivers and gets buried down in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Whatever the full picture really is, there needs to be trust that Daniel Briere and the rest of the Flyers brain trust know what’s best for the team.  Grab your popcorn and stay tuned – this show is just getting interesting.