Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The Calgary Flames are currently waiting for Miikka Kiprusoff to announce his future with the franchise. He has a year left on his contract, but is expected to announce his retirement, though he has yet to do so. The Flames are already preparing for life after Kiprusoff nonetheless.
At the beginning of next month, the Flames will likely announce a deal with goaltender Karri Ramo. There are several reports that Ramo and the Flames have already agreed to a deal, though it cannot officially be signed until July 5th. He’s been playing in the KHL and is technically a restricted free agent.
We won’t know the terms of a deal, since one is not able to be signed, but the two sides will likely have the outline of a deal ready to go by the time July rolls around. What that deal could end up meaning is that Ramo will have the first crack between the pipes for the Flames.
Ramo has experience in this league, though he hasn’t appeared in a game since he played in 24 tilts for the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2008-2009. He’s been playing over in Russia the last four seasons, logging minutes for Avangard Omsk. He’s been excellent in that time, averaging a 2.01 GAA and a .923 save percentage over that time.
When he signs a contract with the Flames next month, Ramo won’t be guaranteed a starting gig, but he’ll likely be in the mix to take over after Kiprusoff. He’ll duke out Joey MacDonald, who has one year remaining on his contract, as well as potentially Reto Barra, who is coming off of an excellent showing at the IIHF World Championship.
