Johnson to Back Up in Calgary

Only a week out from getting their starting goalie, the Calgary Flames have successfully sniffed out their back-up for the 2017 season and he comes with a good portion of starting experience to boot, which is a certain bonus.

Chad Johnson became a pool worthy goalie in the 2016 season when his back-up role in Buffalo turned into a starting gig, when Robin Lehner went down with a major injury in the year.  Johnson appeared in 45 games, winning 22 and picked up 48 points in the year, ranking him 26th among goalies and he was the top goalie in the unrestricted free agent pool at the start of the day.

Johnson has been floating around a little bit and a 1-year deal with the Flames won't necessarily change that, but it will offer him some flexibility in his own career, if he was to pursue a starting job or the Flames were more comfortable moving up prospect Jon Gillies to the big team in the 2018 season.  His cap hit of $1.7 million is also a nice raise and also a flexible number for the team, as they continue to build towards the coming season.

I wouldn't expect Johnson to be the same goalie, points-wise in 2017, since Brian Elliott will likely be promised the bulk of the starts, but if all goes well, Johnson will still get 25 starts and he could still pick up some much needed wins and points, making him into a decent back-up option for a hockey pool team.