2016-17 Report Card: Chad Johnson

Chad Johnson (Goalie) - Midseason Grade: B+

Adjusted Fenwick Save Percentage (5V5) - .54
GSAA (5V5) - .9
Save Percentage (Overall) - .910

Our Individual Grades

Samwell9 (C+)

Chad Johnson was a really good goalie for the role that he should have been expected to provide: a strong backup that can go on a bit of a run if you give him a string of games. Johnson’s extremely strong play in November helped dig the Flames out of their early season hole. After that, he had some good games and some not so good games. He is not a starter, but as a backup, he is solid. If the Flames move on from Elliott, I think Johnson would be an acceptable choice to keep around as a backup.

MarkParkinson14: (C)

Chad Johnson. Johnson saved the Flames season in the month of December and kept the Flames from being sucked down the drain. From November 30th to December 10th he went 6-0 and the Flames righted the ship towards the playoffs. After that it went south and thankfully the Flames had other plans in net. After December 10th Johnson went 5-12 (including 1 playoff loss) and he looked like a shadow of himself. In his defence, the Flames goaltending was streaky ALL season long. So it’s not as if this was just a Johnson thing, but the Flames know what they have in Johnson. He’s not a starter and is a decent backup. It’s like groundhog day though: still no clear cut #1 goalie in Calgary for another season. I’m fine with the Flames moving on from Johnson this off season.

FlamesMM: (C)

When Elliott was good, Johnson struggled, and vice versa. Although when Elliott got hot towards the end of the season, Johnson became stuck on the bench which probably led to his rustiness down the stretch. As a backup goaltender I think he’s a very viable option heading into next season, but it really all depends on how the Flames choose to move forward in the crease. He was a suitable option for a back up but isn’t much more. Keep him or let him go, doesn’t matter.

HockeyGoalieEh: (B-)

Johnson had a higher adjusted Fenwick save percentage than his counterpart in Brian Elliott and ultimately had the better season. He ranked 29th out of the top 75 goalies, so he could probably be a sub-par starter somewhere. Not bad for the price tag, but not necessarily ideal going forward. With that being said, the Flames have three guys in the pipeline waiting, but the only one which might be ready would be David Rittich (Gillies struggled mightily with Stockton and should not be a consideration for the roster next year), so signing Johnson at a low dollar amount with a short term would be ideal.

Nora: (B)

Our Final Grade: B-