Calgary Flames sign goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew to one-year, two-way contract

The Calgary Flames have added some future goaltending depth from an unlikely source.

On Monday, the team announced it had signed goaltender Waltteri Ignatjew to a one-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $870,000.

The deal will be for the 2024-25 season.

It was safe to say Ignatjew was on any expert’s radar to be offered a contract. The 24-year-old went undrafted, and his highest level of pro hockey experience was playing five games for Jukurit of Liiga in his native Finland during the 2021-22 season.

However, Ignatjew has found success over the past couple of seasons. Last season, with Mestis squad Kiekko-Espoo, the Helsinki native went 21-2-5, posting the league’s best goals-against average (1.74) and save percentage (.927), and leading Espoo to the team’s first league championship.

In 2023-24, Ignatjew signed with Mora IK of HockeyAllsvenkan. He was named the league’s best goaltender after going 26-18-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .918 SV%. Ignatjew helped Mora to the semifinals of the promotion playoffs before being eliminated by Djurgårdens IF.

For a goaltender to have not played in the top division of a pro league overseas, and get signed to an NHL contract, it might be a head-scratcher to some. However, with his recent body of work, Ignatjew has earned the opportunity to play in North America.

As a result of the signing, the Flames have 32 standard player contracts signed for next season, three of which are goaltenders. Oscar Dansk (UFA) and Dustin Wolf (RFA) are currently without contracts for the 2024-25 season.

According to CapFriendly, Calgary is projected to have close to $18.7 million in cap space next season.