Tuesday will mark another start for Calgary Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller. It won’t be like the others, though.
Hiller will get the crease call when Calgary welcomes the Anaheim Ducks, his former club with whom he spent his first seven seasons and 326 career National Hockey League games.
“I’m definitely excited to play those guys,” Hiller said following Monday’s practice. “It’s going to be more special than a usual game. It definitely makes it more special if you know a lot of guys you face and some guys you’ve played with for the last seven years. You can’t deny that. It’s a little bit more than a usual game.”
Hiller posted a 162-110-32 record over parts of seven seasons in Orange County and amassed a 2.51 goals against average and .916 career save percentage.
But he struggled following the Olympic break last season and saw his role diminish in favour of rookie goaltender Frederik Andersen. With Andersen, 25, and John Gibson, 21, battling for crease time, the Ducks opted not to re-sign the 32-year-old Hiller this offseason.
“For me, it almost felt like after the Olympic break it seemed like I wouldn’t start against the good teams and at first it was just ‘to rest you’,” Hiller said. “I kind of felt like (Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau) was leaning more towards Andersen. It’s tough at that point to not second-guess yourself and be mentally focused out there just to play well.
“If you don’t feel that trust you second-guess everything and you kind of go out there not to play bad instead of play well.”
It opened the door for a change of scenery with the Flames.
Hiller signed a two-year deal with Calgary and has flourished, starting his post-Ducks career with an 8-4-1 record. He’s also put up a 2.30 goals against average and .922 save percentage through 13 appearances.
“It’s a little disappointing, sure, but it’s part of the hockey business,” he said. “That’s the not so fun side. At the same time, I’m excited to have gotten a new job somewhere else. Things have been great here. I’m really excited to have success with this team and hopefully we will [Tuesday] as well.”
It was automatic to start Hiller against his former club, coach Bob Hartley admitted.
“Whenever you play your former team for the first time, it’s always special,” Hartley said. “It’s always fun and we want to give him this but at the same time, I think Karri gave us a great game against Ottawa. We have two great goalies, two goalies that can win us some games so we will use them.”
He's up to the challenge.
Hiller just isn’t sure who has the advantage: he, or Ducks shooters.
“We’ll find out [Tuesday]. I have no idea,” Hiller said. “I’ve seen goalies play against their former team and were great and I’ve seen it the other way around. I’m just excited to play again. It’s definitely a little more special knowing a lot of the guys.”