Guess Joni Ortio saw the writing on the wall.
After a summer in which he wasn’t qualified by the Flames, then watched GM Brad Treliving acquire a pair of goalies in Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson, Ortio decided to sign on with Skelleftea of the Swedish League.
Skelleftea announced the move on Wednesday.
The move overseas culminates what was a pretty dramatic fall from grace. Back in ’13-14, Ortio -- then just 22 years old -- looked to be a bright goaltending prospect, going 27-8-0 with a 2.33 GAA and .926 save percentage with AHL Abbotsford.
That earned him a spot on the league’s All-Rookie team.
Ortio also showed relatively well at the NHL level early in his career, going 4-2-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .908 save percentage in a brief six-game cameo with the Flames.
That led him to announce he wanted to “steal that No. 1 job” for the ’15-16 campaign, something that never came to fruition -- Ortio had a very disappointing campaign, was placed on waivers, and put up poor numbers for AHL Stockton.
After acquiring Elliott, Treliving did say he still liked Ortio, adding that the 25-year-old “finished real strong,” so there was some thought Ortio could possibly be back in Calgary as Elliott’s No. 2.
But that thought was extinguished when Treliving signed Johnson on the opening day of free agency.