In the least surprising move, the Philadelphia Flyers have waived Cal Petersen. Unless someone wants to take a chance on the goaltender with a 5M cap hit, he should clear waivers tomorrow afternoon. He will then be sent to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
This move points to Felix Sandstrom making his long-awaited return to the NHL. He has not appeared in a game for the Flyers this season, only spending time with the team as the third goaltender. He made the team out of camp, along with Sam Ersson. However, he wasn't used in any games. The rumor was that the Flyers were afraid they might lose him on waivers. Honestly, it wouldn't have been a big loss if he was claimed.
Nonetheless, Sandstrom has spent the majority of this season in the AHL. The numbers aren't very strong. In 20 games, he has a 3.23 GAA and a .882 SV%. That doesn't provide the utmost confidence that he can handle the NHL. But the Flyers needed someone else behind Ersson. Philadelphia has four more games between now and the trade deadline on Mar. 8. With a back-to-back this weekend, Sandstrom will get into a game before then.
The Flyers tried their best to seldom use Petersen during his recall after the Carter Hart news. He appeared in three games, giving up 11 goals. The number is inflated due to the seven goals he surrendered to the Penguins a few nights ago. It was clear from that game that Petersen is a goaltender lacking confidence. Watching the goals back, you can see that he is off on most of his angles and gave up goals in places he should not have. If your team scores six goals, that should lead to a win.
Not when you give up seven, though. The only surprising move was that the Flyers waited this long to waive Petersen. That may have to do with them having off Monday and facing Tampa on Tuesday. This move gives Sandstrom a day of practice with the Flyers before two games this weekend. So the schedule could've forced the team into waiting to make this move. Petersen came to the Flyers hoping for a fresh start. He hasn't gotten one. In five games, he has a 3.90 GAA and a .864 SV. He won two of those games, one being against his former team.
As the Flyers face Washington and Ottawa, it's tough to speculate which game Sandstrom will get. With the Capitals six points back of the Flyers, they may turn to Ersson to further the gap. Ottawa will be playing the second game of a back-to-back too, which could be the chance for Sandstrom. A previous argument suggested the Flyers often used Sandstrom when the team was tired. But in the thick of a playoff race, it is what it is. Your top goaltender will often face the team that is a bigger threat.
Unless Sandstrom has a terrible showing, the Flyers likely won't make any moves for a goaltender at the deadline. Only having one game to see what Sandstrom can do puts them in a tough spot. Maybe he gets two of the next three games so Philadelphia can see what he has. But that seems unlikely at this point in the season.
Sandstrom will be a UFA this offseason. This could finally be his last moment to convince the Flyers he belongs.