Dustin Wolf answered all questions about his future as the Calgary Flames' goaltender last season by starring in his rookie year, and the team rewarded that success by signing him to a long-term contract extension on Tuesday morning.
Calgary agreed to a seven-year, $52.5 million extension with Wolf, solidifying him as their starting goaltender for years to come.
It's a slight risk for the team to lock him in long-term, as there are no guarantees that he can continue his rookie season's success. He struggled in limited opportunities with the Flames during the 2023-24 season, but came into his own in 2024-25 in his first full campaign. He owned a 29-16-8 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage behind a below-average Calgary team.
The Flames are hopeful that locking Wolf in long-term can give them a chance to build a solid team around him. They recently signed forward Connor Zary to an extension, and have another young forward, Matt Coronato, growing as a future star for the team. Add in the expected debut of top prospect Zayne Parekh this season, and Calgary believes they have the pieces to contend in the future.
Wolf has demonstrated an ability to lead a team, as evidenced by his performance last season and his success at the AHL level with Calgary. He was the best goaltender in that league for parts of three seasons, with his best coming during the 2022-23 season. Wolf won the Les Cunningham Award as the league's MVP and also took home every goaltending award that year.
Wolf's success at that level made him one of the most anticipated debuts for Calgary fans. He didn't disappoint, and the fans hope he can continue that success for the next seven years and beyond.
It'll be interesting to see if Wolf can help lead the Flames back to the postseason in 2026.
