Last night the Calgary Flames put goalie Eddie Lack on waivers. So far, the 29-year-old Swede has struggled in 2017-18. Posting a 1-2 record with a massive 5.29 GAA in less than 4 games in Calgary you have to wonder what exactly happened to this once highly touted stopper? The Swede has gone from being a diamond in the rough to an outcast within 5 years.
Back in 2013, Lack burst onto the scene at the Vancouver Canucks. Impressing early on, he gave great competition to Roberto Luongo for the starting job. While his more experienced teammate struggled, the rookie looked like the future of Vancouver. In fact, Canucks GM Mike Gillis had so much faith in him, that he traded Luongo to the Florida Panthers. The gamble backfired spectacularly as Lack struggled for the remainder of the season as the Canucks missed the playoffs.
With their faith tested, the Canucks brought in Ryan Miller as the number one. Although Lack posted a 18-13-4 record in 2014-15 his future in Vancouver appeared to be uncertain. At the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. In Raleigh, Lack faced a similar problem and over his two seasons, he failed to unseat Canes legend Cam Ward. During his time there, the only thing notable was his tweets about his love of Tacos.
Mo money, mo tacos!! #tacolife #tacoshirt pic.twitter.com/Va2Q9PR9lr
— Eddie Lack🇸🇪 (@eddielack) August 3, 2015
In June 2017, Lack again was traded, this time to the Calgary Flames. After the departure of Brian Elliott, he must have thought he was due for some game time. The subsequent aquisition of Mike Smith soon put an end to that idea. Lack hasn’t played for Calgary since November 15th when he allowed five goals on fifteen shots against Detroit. So what precisely led to his downfall?
You could say the Canucks placed far too much expectation on a young rookie? Placed in an unwinnable situation, the Swede was nowhere near ready to carry that side. The Canucks have never seemed to handle goalie situations well and trading Luongo was a big error. Has he dwelled on that failure to step up? We can’t say for sure but there has definitely been an apathy to his game since.
It probably hasn’t helped that each team he has been traded to has an established goalie. Being Cam Ward’s backup was at that time like being number two QB at New England. Unless something drastic happens, you aren’t leaving the bench. Backing up Mike Smith in Calgary was never going to be pleasant for him. Lack is a decent goalie, but cannot seem to find the right home.
Unless someone comes swooping for him he will be going to AHL side Stockton Heat. Eddie Lack is not getting any younger and unless he wants to bounce around multiple teams this year like Antti Niemi– he had better get it together.