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Flyers place goalie Cal Petersen on waivers

Petersen allowed seven goals on 32 shots in a loss to the Penguins on Sunday. Felix Sandström is expected to be recalled from Lehigh Valley.

Flyers goaltender Cal Petersen in net against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 10.
Flyers goaltender Cal Petersen in net against the Seattle Kraken on Feb. 10.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

The Flyers have placed goalie Cal Petersen on waivers, The Inquirer has confirmed.

On Sunday, Petersen allowed seven goals on 32 shots in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his first NHL start since a Feb. 10 win against the Seattle Kraken and third appearance since being recalled from Lehigh Valley on Jan. 23. He allowed two goals on 14 shots against the Boston Bruins in mop-up duty right before the All-Star break, his first game experience since a start for Lehigh Valley on Jan. 19.

”It’s kind of a new situation, not playing as much but I think I’ve really utilized the time well,” Petersen told The Inquirer on Friday. “Game feels like it’s at a really good spot and I’ve gotten a lot of worthwhile reps. I’ve kind of, the way things are with the game situation I’ve just treated every practice like it was a game and prepared the same way and try to do as much as possible in those practices to kind of maximize it.”

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Petersen made two starts in November for the Flyers, including a 4-2 win against his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. Acquired from the Kings as part of the three-way Ivan Provorov trade over the summer, the Iowa native played five seasons for Los Angeles, going 44-42-10 with a 2.92 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.

Once considered the heir apparent to Jonathan Quick, Petersen posted solid numbers across his first three NHL seasons. In 2018-19, he had a 2.61 GAA and .924 save percentage in 11 games; a 2.65 GAA and .922 save percentage in eight starts in 2019-20; and a 2.89 GAA and .911 save percentage in 35 games in 2020-21. Since then his GAA has gone up to 3.90 this season and his save percentage is well under .900.

The expectation is Felix Sandström will be recalled from Lehigh Valley once Petersen clears waivers. Sandström was with the Flyers earlier this season but did not appear in any games; his last NHL start was April 13, 2023, in a 5-4 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks. In 20 games with Lehigh Valley, he is 11-6-2 with a 3.23 GAA and 0.882 save percentage.