The Calgary Flames have acquired goaltender Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the 35th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and a conditional pick. The Flames were rumored to be interested in several goalies (Fleury, Bishop), but ultimately they landed on Elliott.
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Though the Blues had a 1A-1B situation in net with Elliott and Jake Allen, the move comes as a bit of a surprise considering just how strong Elliott was for the Blues. In 42 regular season games, Elliott went 23-8-6 with an outstanding .930 save percentage (tops in the NHL) and 2.07 GAA. In the playoffs, Elliott had a respectable 2.44 GAA and a .921 save percentage. In summary, Elliott was awesome.
The Blues consistently picked other options besides Elliott. They trade for Ryan Miller when Elliott was an option. They chose Allen over Elliott and that didn’t pan out in the playoffs in 2014-15. When the club finally turned to Elliott, the team made it further than they have in 15 years and now he’s rewarded by being shown the door.
Flames fans should be pretty happy, especially since the price was so modest. The 35th pick and a conditional pick for arguably one of the best goalies in the NHL is a steal. Elliott could easily be in the Vezina conversation and yet the Blues didn’t think he was the best option.
The Blues needed to make a trade, but eliminating their goaltending depth wasn’t the right one. For the Flames, this may finally bring some stability to their crease.
