Trading Jacob Markstrom to the Devils has opened the door for 23-year-old Dustin Wolf to show the world what he can do.

If a wolf's howl is to ward off rival packs from their territory, then Dustin Wolf is going to be heard. 

The 23-year-old prospect, a seventh-round pick and the fourth-last overall pick in the 2014 draft now enters the 2024-25 season as one of the two goalies vying for the Flames' starting job. 

Wolf started 15 games last season, coming in relief when Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar were injured, and finished with a 7-7-1, .893 Sv% and 3.16 GAA record. On the surface, the numbers don't look great, but it was also evident that Wolf was the much better option than Vladar, his main competition for the starting job. 

Among goalies with at least 600 TOI at 5v5, Vladar allowed one more goal per 60 minutes than the average goalie (-0.98 GSAA/60), by far the worst in the league, according to naturalstattrick.com. 

GM Craig Conroy can wax poetic ("... we have two young guys we really believe in.") about his two young goalies (Vladar is 26), but no one should be buying what any of Conroy is selling. It's not like he can say anything else.

(The only GM who openly tanks the value of his goalie right now is Don Waddell.)

Let's also not forget the ridiculous reason one of the reasons Wolf was drafted so late — he was too small, even though he led the WHL in both save percentage and GAA in his draft season.

The pedigree is just incredible. The season following the draft, Wolf again posted the best stats in the WHL, and also won the first of two straight Del Wilson Trophies, awarded to the league's best goalie. Immediately after turning pro, Wolf led the AHL in wins and won the award as the league's best goalie for two straight seasons, including one season where he was named league MVP. 

Is it time we just believe that Wolf can do it? Remember, good goalies can come out of nowhere; Miikka Kiprusoff was drafted 116th overall in 1995, and he was a mere backup when the Flames traded for him. 

Barring a collapse from Wolf where he's basically unplayable, and a strong season from Vladar where he can stay healthy, it doesn't seem like Vladar, with no contract extension in place following the 2024-25 season, has carved out a long-term future with the Flames just yet. 

(Other than Vladar, the Flames have just one other goalie under contract: 24-year-old Waltteri Ignatjew, an undrafted Finn who just signed his ELC in April. Wolf is currently a RFA.)

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqvqFyKODNA[/embed]

Next question: Is a Flames goalie worth rostering in fantasy hockey?

Considering their defense was gutted when Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Nikita Zadorov were traded, with Mac Weegar and Rasmus Andersson the only two defensemen remaining who are worthy of note, the answer is no.

The Flames are counting that one, or maybe two, of their young 20-something defensemen can step up. Perhaps Kevin Bahl becomes a legit shutdown defender, Daniil Miromanov stays healthy and provides good secondary offense, or Nikita Okhotiuk lives up to his potential and Oliver Kylington resumes his career without any hiccups. But it's a lot of if's. 

I don't doubt that there will be times where Wolf can be an excellent streamer. Goalies can be streaky, and Wolf, who had a brilliant two-game stretch at home against the Knights and Habs, and then finished the season with four straight wins, certainly has the ability to go on a hot streak. 

Wolf and Vladar will likely operate a timeshare to start, and based on seniority, I wouldn't be surprised if Vladar gets the start on opening night. It's hard to see Wolf take on a big workload in his first full NHL season, and he'll be hung out to dry most nights with the Flames icing a below-average roster. (They traded Andrew Mangiapane on Thursday to the Caps). By the end of the season, though, I do expect Wolf to be the 1A option. 

But there's further downside: The Flames don't offer much goal support. They finished 18th in GF/GP last season; one of their two 30-goal scorers is Blake frickin' Coleman and Jonathan Huberdeau's 115-point season might've been one of the most overrated of all-time. 

The Pacific will be difficult: The Oilers, Knights, Canucks and Kings are all playoff teams, the Kraken should improve, and the Ducks (Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier) and the Sharks (incoming Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith) have young, talented players to build around. 

The caveat is that Wolf can be a very intriguing zero-G option. If the goal is to bet on potential, knowing that surprises are abound every season, it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least keep an eye on Wolf. 

Wolf is among a group of young, promising goalies, including the Wild's Jesper Wallstedt, the Predators' Yaroslav Askarov, the Avalanche's Justus Annunen and the Sabres' Devon Levi, who are higher risk options but have the potential to be quite valuable at some point during the 2024-25 season. 

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