The Calgary Flames had awful goaltending for much of the 2015-16 season. Seeking to remedy the situation, one of the most prominent moves that general manager Brad Treliving made was going out to the free agent market and buying his team the backup netminder that the numbers said was the best available.
A product of Calgary, Chad Johnson seemed eager to come home. He immediately got a pair of masks made with colour schemes matching the team’s home and road jerseys – early in the season he got a third mask made to match the vintage third jerseys – and that seemed reflective of his overall enthusiasm.