Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Sign Goalie Eetu Makiniemi; What it Means
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goalie Eetu Makiniemi, originally attending training camp on a tryout basis, to a one-year contract worth $775,000, his agency shared on social media on Tuesday night.
The signing of Makiniemi is pending an official announcement from the Flyers.
Makiniemi played in the Flyers’ preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night and performed well, stopping 13 of 14 shots before making way for Cal Petersen, who performed markedly worse in his stead.
The #Flyers signed 25 y/o G6 UFA G Eetu Makiniemi to 1 year deal
NHL 775K
Minors 200KWas with Flyers on PTO
Rep'd by Murray Koontz @WD_sportsagency
900 SV% in 18 AHL GPhttps://t.co/QLL0eb23aa
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) September 24, 2024
Now that Makiniemi is under contract with the Flyers, he is more than likely destined to form a tandem with Petersen at the AHL level for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Top prospect Alexei Kolosov is still M.I.A. and has not reported to training camp as he stays home in Belarus, so the Flyers needed a contingency plan in goal for the AHL and NHL levels.
Petersen was, in theory, Philadelphia’s get-out-of-jail-free card with his massive $5 million cap hit, since it was highly unlikely any NHL team would willingly take that on through waivers. John Tortorella and the Flyers tried to deputize Petersen in emergency situations last year, but the former Los Angeles Kings goaltender could not hold things together.
Petersen allowed four goals on 33 shots between two games against Seattle and Boston, and in his last start for the Flyers, Petersen surrendered seven goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a devastating 7-6 loss.
The 29-year-old also allowed five goals in a Nov. 4 loss to the Kings, so those two games alone could have made the difference between the Flyers making the Stanley Cup playoffs and missing by four points as they did.
Makiniemi has shown that he is at least passable at the NHL level in a small sample size; the Finn went 1-0-1 with the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23, posting a 2.13 GAA and a .906 save percentage.
The 25-year-old – still fairly young – played most of his hockey in the AHL last season for the San Jose Barracuda, going 8-8-0 with a 3.14 GAA and .900 save percentage, though he finished 2023-24 with three shutouts in his last five games, including two back-to-back in his final two appearances.
Since Makiniemi is still waivers-exempt, it’s likely we’ve seen the last of Petersen in the Orange and Black in a competitive game, barring something catastrophic.
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Good move for the net in LHV and also gives the Flyers a reliable call-up in case of injury to Ersson or Fedotov.
The sooner Danny finds a taker for Kolosov the better….get him off the 50 contract Limit Rule.
I believe they still has six open contract slots available. At this point I don’t see them adding six more players from outside of the organization as free agents, and there definitely isn’t a single player currently under contract that would demand a seven player return in a trade. Danny shouldn’t be feeling any pressure to move Kolosov just for the sake of getting rid of his contract.
Kolosov has become a distraction…especially since the media will continue to bring him up as a disgruntled ELC signed Flyer. And then there will be the finger pointing towards Jones/Briere, similar to the Gauthier situation and then the Ryan Johansen ordeal with his termination.
It would be worse if the Flyers moved Kolosov for the sake of moving him without getting real value for him. IF someone steps up and offers a 2nd round pick, move him. Otherwise hold onto him.
The difference is the Flyers would eventually lose Gauthier for nothing. If Kolosov refuses to come over from Russia, the Flyers continue to retain his rights until he plays in North America.
And the only people distracted by it our fans sitting at home worried about prospects. No one in that locker room cares what is going on with a kid in Europe.
But none of it seems to matter now that Kolosov has worked out his differences and is coming over.
I think they set a price of a second-round pick for him, probably knowing no one will offer that. So it makes it look like they are willing to trade him, but he will just sit over in Belarus. Maybe he can get a job building tractors.
Only if they get value for him.
They currently have 45 of 50 contracts so they have plenty of room for additional signings. They also have plenty of players that are in the last year of their contract, so I do not see the 50 contract limit being an issue this season or next.