Calgary Flames
Joni Ortio Makes His Pitch
The young net minder is in love with Calgary, but are the Flames in love with him?
“I love it in Calgary.” – Joni Ortio, who is an RFA this summer pic.twitter.com/Et1MpJiyTm
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) April 11, 2016
#Flames G Joni Ortio, pending RFA: “I’d love to be here long-term, I don’t know if I’ve earned that long-term (deal) yet.”
— Wes Gilbertson (@WesGilbertson) April 11, 2016
Joni Ortio says he wants to be back next year. Says contract extension talks haven’t really started, though. #Flames
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) April 11, 2016
Joni Ortio is actively making his pitch to stay in Calgary for the foreseeable future, but are the Flames going to make that happen? That is one of the million dollar questions this off-season that the Flames must answer before the 2016-17 season starts. While Ortio did play well at the end of the season after Karri Ramo's injury, this writer doesn't believe he's the long term answer as the starting goaltender right now.
Now, not believing he's the long term answer as a starter is one thing, but I would be 100% on board with him getting a new deal and being Calgary's backup. Ortio showed enough in the 22 games he played that he's an asset that could help the Flames in the future. His current deal has expired and there's no way the Flames are going to get him on the cheap (he was making $600k), but he shouldn't break the bank either.
by Mark Parkinson