In a shocking move on the night of the NHL Draft, the St. Louis Blues have traded goalie Brian Elliott to the Calgary Flames.
They acquired the 31-year-old goalie from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2016 second-round draft pick (No. 35 overall) and a conditional third-round selection on Friday night.
If Elliott re-signs with Calgary or is traded, the Blues will get a third-round draft pick in 2018 as well.
Last season, Elliott posted a .930 save percentage in 42 games for the Blues during the 2015-16 campaign.
Meanwhile, Calgary had the worst save percentage of any team in the NHL last season and struggled to manage the puck at 5-on-5. Entering the draft, the Flames’ front office made it perfectly clear their top priority was filling up their hole at goalie.
The veteran goalie has one year left on his contract with a $2.5 million salary cap hit.
Elliott made his debut back in 2007-08 with the Ottawa Senators, where he played until the 2010-11 season. He then went to the Colorado Avalanche for one season, struggling with a mere 2-8 win-loss record. It was when he arrived at St. Louis, however, that the fortunes of his career began to change.
In his first season with the Blues, Elliott finished with a record of 23-10, but during his first few years, the front office did not have a lot of confidence in the young goalie, constantly having players such as Jaroslav Halak and Ryan Miller take up more time between the pipes.
During the 2015-16 season, the time finally arrived in which Elliott became the true leader at the goalie position. He finished with a career best 23-8 record in the regular season, while Jake Allen (now the leading goalie) also found success. In the playoffs, Elliott helped the Blues overcome tough odds against the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars.
He has a career regular season record of 165-99 and a .914 save percentage. In the playoffs, his record was 15-19, and a .911 save percentage.
It will be a different environment without “The Moose” in St. Louis, but the memories he helped make will last forever.
