Craig Conroy has been a busy general manager over the last little bit. He got a big piece of business done right before training camp began, as Dustin Wolf has been signed to a seven-year, $52.5M contract extension. This is a massive extension for the rookie, as we have never really seen such a rich long-term contract given to a goaltender after their rookie season.
It’s clear that the Calgary Flames see Wolf as their next franchise goaltender for a long time, but what do our readers think? Is it a fair contract? We asked, you answered.
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Readers’ grade for the Wolf extension
We presented the below poll to our readers:
Grade: A
The vast majority of voters would give the extension an A grade. Conroy is doing something here that we didn’t see much of from Treliving at all, and that is locking up young and promising players to long-term deals. Wolf is exactly that and even more. He has dominated in every league he has played in and was the main reason the Flames did as well as they did last year. He looked better than Jacob Markstrom has ever looked as a Flame, and Markstrom had some great years.
Don’t get me wrong, I know it was just one full NHL season for Wolf, but he was spectacular. One can debate whether the team should have committed that much term or that much money, but Wolf has definitely earned it.
Grade: B
Roughly 10% of voters gave this contract a B. Not a bad grade at all, but there are some reasons for it not to be an A. Firstly, though Wolf was incredible last year, it was also just one year. There may be some concerns about committing so much money and so much term after just one good season. Goaltending can be quite an unpredictable position, and there are probably only five goalies in the whole league who can consistently have good years. Can Wolf be that guy? The Flames seem to think so.
Grade C and D
Practically nobody voted for these options, and whoever did, I assume, are Oilers fans. Moving on.
Wolf is the future
For at least the next seven years, the net is Dustin Wolf’s. He is now looked at as the next franchise goalie. Wolf is going to be a part of the Flames’ path back to contention, and he seems super eager to get going.
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