Adding a veteran goaltender was on the list of things to do before hitting the lakeside cottages for the Minnesota Wild. It appears they can cross it off the list as The Athletic’s Michael Russo is reporting that they signed Cal Petersen to a one-year, $775,000 contract.
Petersen, a six-year NHL veteran originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 draft by Buffalo, will provide a bit of a buffer if Jesper Wallstedt struggles as the back-up or if injuries befall Filip Gustavsson. Should the young netminders play well in their role, the entirety of Petersen’s contract can be buried in the AHL.
The 30-year-old goaltender is now on with his fourth organization. He never suited up for Buffalo as they never offered him a contract. The Los Angeles Kings signed him as a free agent in 2017 and he would play 101 games for them over five seasons. In June of 2023 he was part of a massive, three-team deal that involved L.A., Columbus, and Philadelphia. Petersen would appear in 5 games for the Flyers that season.
He spent all of last season with LeHigh Valley in the AHL, getting into 31 games and posting a 3.14 GAA with an .885 SV%.
Part of Petersen’s appeal to the Wild is that he is familiar with what his role will be considering it is very similar to what he was doing in Philadelphia. The Flyers had a very young and inexperienced stable of goalies last year in Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov. While they never called on Petersen to play at the NHL level, he was there if needed.
Going into next season, he should challenge Wellstadt for the back-up role, but if things go according to play, he will get the majority of his playing time in Iowa.