Many people -- your author included -- thought it was a bad idea when Flames GM Brad Treliving entered this season with three goalies on the roster.
Now we’re starting to see why.
On Tuesday, Calgary exposed another goalie to waivers -- Joni Ortio has been placed on the wire, per TSN.
The move comes just over a month after the Flames put Karri Ramo on waivers, with no takers -- and since being recalled from AHL Stockton, Ramo inherited the No. 1 gig from Jonas Hiller and ran with it, starting each of Calgary’s last 11 games while playing every minute.
Ortio, meanwhile, hasn’t seen any action since allowing six goals to Montreal on Oct. 30.
Today’s transaction likely means that Hiller is ready to return from the hip injury that’s kept him out since late last month. He skated with the club on Monday and could soon reconnect with Ramo to form the combo that backstopped Calgary to a surprising playoff appearance a year ago.
Of course, many wonder if that duo will still work.
The numbers on both goalies are pretty bad this year. Ramo’s 6-8-2 with a 3.12 GAA and .898 save percentage, while Hiller is 2-3-0 with a 3.67 and .861.
Things also don’t promise to get any easier for the Flames in the near future. They have back-to-back road games in Arizona and San Jose this weekend, then return home for three games against three of the NHL’s highest-scoring clubs: Dallas (most goals for in the league), Boston (fourth-most) and the Sharks (11th-most).
As for Ortio, it’ll be interesting to see if anybody takes a flier. He’s young (24), cheap ($600,000) and has shown very well at the American League level, earning a spot on the All-Rookie team in ’13-14.