Calgary Flames Johnson Wins Elliott/Bishop/Fleury Debate

Calgary Flames goalie Chad Johnson has quietly risen on top as the unspoken one of the possible goaltenders Flames would have acquired during the offseason.

Calgary Flames net-minder Chad Johnson has become an unsung hero. When Flames need him the most, he has stepped up and proved his position.

But where was his name during the off-season?

During the off-season before draft day, there were a few names speculating for the Flames. It was no secret that the Flames had troubles with their goalie situation. Basically since Miikka Kiprusoff. The names that mainly made headlines were Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Surprisingly, even Brian Elliott‘s name wasn’t on the chopping block a whole lot. Then draft day came. And people were on their toes. “Would Flames get Fleury or Bishop today?” There was quite a bit of thunder and lightning on draft day here in Calgary and I thought that was foreshadowing for the Flames acquiring Bishop.

Elliott came as a surprise

Like I said, Brian Elliott came as a bit of a surprise on draft day since the names were mainly surrounding Bishop and Fleury. However, when the Calgary Flames traded for Elliott on draft day, everyone was excited. Elliott had excellent numbers over the last five season, so he ended up winning the Bishop/Fleury debate.

From 2011-2015, he has the second best save percentage (of goaltenders who have played at least 50 games a season) with 0.925. Last season, he even led the league in save percentage with 0.930. I’ve mentioned before, but having some of the best numbers in the entire league for five years in a row isn’t a fluke. It doesn’t just happen to goalies.

So needless to say, but Flames fans were excited for him.

But then the season started and he struggled a bit. Even though he had an incredible pre-season. This was a concern, but not big enough that people were worrying. This can happen to the best in the league when going to a different team. And like I said, he’s been one of the best over the last few seasons. And then his game did pick up a bit and everyone had that sigh of relief.

Nov 21, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Calgary Flames goalie Brian Elliott (1) looks to make a glove save during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

But then his game fell again. And he’s been struggling for a bit.

So thank the hockey gods for Chad Johnson.

Chad Johnson has become the unsung hero

Like I said, everyone was excited for Elliott. And not to discredit Johnson in any way, but Elliott’s numbers have been very respectable over the last few seasons. So of course he’s going to be the primary focus.

However, Johnson has unexpectedly stepped his game up and has come through when the Calgary Flames have needed him the most.

In his last six games as the Flames starter, he has won five of them and has gotten two shutouts. Since a week ago, Sunday November 20th, Johnson is leading the way. He’s tied for first in wins with three of them. He is also leading in save percentage and goals-against-average of goalies who have played at least two games in that time frame. His sv% is 0.968 and his GAA is 1.00. He has also gotten a shutout this week.

Nov 25, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Calgary Flames goalie Chad Johnson (31) makes a save in front of defenseman Brett Kulak (61) and Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) during the third period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /

A bit of an improvement from the start of his season. Not that it was incredibly horrendous or anything, but he didn’t seem like he had the ability to be the starting goaltender over Elliott. In the month of October, Johnson only played three games but his record was 1-1-1. His sv% was 0.901 and his GAA was 2.89. So like I said, not horrible, but not starter quality.

However, since then, in November his sv% is 0.939 which is eighth for goalies who have played at least five games. And his GAA is 1.63, which is fourth for goalies who have played at least five games. He also has two shutouts in November, which is tied for first.

For the season, he is now 7-3-1 and has managed to bring his GAA below a 2.

For the season, Johnson actually has a better record, sv%, and GAA than Elliott, Bishop, and Fleury.

Next: Chad Johnson Continues To Show

Who would have thought that Chad Johnson would win the Bishop/Fleury debate?

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