The biggest hole on the roster for the Oilers is goaltending, there really isn’t much of a debate there. The answer to this spot seems so far away, yet it very well could be in the Province, just a bit further south in, yes, Calgary.
The Flames shocked the NHL this past season by reaching the second round of the playoffs, and a big reason for that is their stellar goaltending. While Jonas Hiller started a good portion of the games this year, Karri Ramo was right there with him. Ramo has taken over in this second round too, keeping the Flames in these games with Anaheim.
Why Is He Out There:
This is Ramo’s best chance for a payday, no doubting that. Ramo is looking to cash in on his decent performance this season, and is likely looking to win a starting job somewhere in the NHL.
The Flames have Jonas Hiller under contract next season, and he played the majority of the games this season, as mentioned above. I highly doubt the Flames would jump ship from Hiller, who was more than solid for them, so quickly. He’ll likely return as the starter, meaning Ramo likely tests the open market.
What Does He Do Well:
Karri Ramo is a decent goaltender, certainly established at the NHL level. This year, in 34 games, he posted a .912 SV%, slightly below average but not terrible. Last year, in 40 games, Ramo posted a similar .911 mark, playing behind a bad Flames team that finished in the NHL’s bottom five.
Prior to this two year stint in Calgary, Ramo played in the KHL for four seasons, backstopping Omsk Avangard. From 2009-2013, Ramo played between 40-50 games every season and routinely posted SV%’s above .920, hitting the .925 mark or above in three of those seasons.
Here’s the thing with Karri Ramo, he’s a risk. He dominated in the KHL for four seasons, and was very good in the late 2000’s in the AHL, but he has yet to establish himself as a starter in the NHL. His marks of .911 and .912 aren’t terrible, but they are slightly below league average and don’t really standout. Those numbers will not carry a hockey team very far.
Ramo is established as a back-up, but has yet to make that jump to a starter. He’s never played more than 45 games in a season, and has yet to hit .915 in the NHL. These are both causes for concern in my mind, he comes with some risk.
Where Will He Play / Where Should He Play:
In my mind, Karri Ramo is a very good back-up goalie at the NHL level. You can play him for 30 games and expect somewhere around league average goaltending. He hasn’t proven to be anything more than that since turning pro way back in 2006-07.
If he came to Edmonton, Ramo would likely start in tandem with Ben Scrivens, fighting for the starting job, which is probably the right spot for him. That said, Edmonton needs a real starting goalie, and Karri Ramo is not that at this time. Personally, I don’t think the player fills the hole here.
What Will He Cost:
I’m thinking Ramo will command a two or three year contract with an annual cap hit somewhere around $3-$3.5 million. It’s likely to be an overpay, but with so many teams looking for help in net this off-season, Ramo might just get it from someone.
Admittedly, this dollar value is on the higher end, but again, would it surprise anyone if a team got desperate enough and threw that out there? We see it from someone every year.
Closing Arguments:
Karri Ramo is an actual NHL goalie who has proven he can handle the backup role. However, Ramo has not proven anything else, and at this time is nothing more than a calculated risk for a starting role. He very well could take that next step, but he just as easily could fall off like Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth did this season.
If Edmonton had a goalie that could handle 45/50 games a year, then I’d say roll the dice on Ramo, but as I’ve said time and time again, they simply don’t. Edmonton needs a proven starting option, and Ramo simply is not that. If I’m Peter Chiarelli, I keep Ramo as a fallback option, but certainly don’t call him first on July 1st.
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