Artyom Zagidulin’s first season in North America didn’t see him come close to putting up the numbers he did in the KHL in 2018-19 but he showed enough to convince the Flames to give him another look as they announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year, two-way contract extension. CapFriendly reports that the deal carries a $700K salary at the NHL level, a $125K salary in the minors, and an overall guarantee of $225K.
The 24-year-old spent this season with Stockton of the AHL in a timeshare with Jon Gillies as each goalie made 30 appearances for the Heat. Zagidulin’s numbers (3.07 GAA, .898 SV%) weren’t quite as strong as Gillies (2.69 GAA, .907 SV%) but it’s worth noting that Gillies was in his fourth season at the AHL while Zagidulin was in his rookie campaign.
With Gillies slated to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this offseason, Zagidulin should have a chance for a bigger chunk of the workload in Stockton next season. Calgary has two other young netminders that are eligible for restricted free agency in Tyler Parsons and Nick Schneider. Both spent the season with Kansas City of the ECHL and put up rather pedestrian numbers. Accordingly, it’s possible that one may be non-tendered with the other serving as Zagidulin’s backup in the AHL next season.