Flyers

Goalie Madness: Pickard Out, Darling In?

By Russ Joy

Published: Nov 29th, 2018 · 12:43 PM EST

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Well, Flyers fans, the Cal Pickard era has come to an end after 11 mediocre-at-best games for the orange and black:

The Arizona Coyotes have claimed goaltender Calvin Pickard off waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers. #OurPack pic.twitter.com/Yc9T92PdCe

— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) November 29, 2018

Pickard posted a 4.01 GAA and .863 save percentage. He will most likely be remembered for his final performance in a 6-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in which he allowed four goals on six shots and was chased out of the game less than thirteen minutes in.

Could his replacement come from Carolina?

The Hurricanes are placing goalie Scott Darling on waivers today

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 29, 2018

Back in 2016-17, Darling posted a 2.38 GAA and a .924 save percentage, but those numbers have taken a pretty drastic hit over the last two years. In seven games this season, Darling has a 3.14 GAA and a .892 save percentage. Are those numbers a marked improvement over Pickard? Yeah, but there’s one huge obstacle in the way:

Darling is in second season of a four-year, $16.6-million contract. If he clears waivers tomorrow, will report to AHL.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 29, 2018

He’s set to make $4.1 million per season for the next two seasons.

It’s possible that if Paul Holmgen were in love with the idea, he could work out a trade with Carolina taking on some of his salary for this season, but it seems inconceivable the team would want to invest more money in a mediocre netminder. With Michael Neuvirth set to return at some point – for a few games hopefully – and Brian Elliott not that far away from a return, it seems unlikely he’ll get picked up by Philly. That said, would anything surprise you at this point?