Ex-Los Angeles Kings goalie Cal Petersen is getting another opportunity to potentially work his way back into the NHL this fall with the Washington Capitals.
The Capitals officially announced on Tuesday that Petersen will be joining them for training camp this fall on a professional tryout agreement. The 31-year-old Petersen will now have the chance to compete for an NHL contract after spending the entirety of this past season in the AHL with the Iowa Wild.
Petersen hasn't appeared in an NHL game since the 2023-24 season with the Philadelphia Flyers. That makes this training camp opportunity with the Capitals incredibly important for the former Kings goalie to potentially get his NHL career back on track.
Cal Petersen looking to work his way back to the NHL after leaving the LA Kings
Back in 2017, Petersen signed with the Kings as a college free agent. He eventually appeared in over 100 games in the regular season for the Kings (from 2018-2023), registering a 44-42-10 record, a .905 save percentage, a 2.92 goals-against average, four shutouts, and -9.0 goals saved above expected.
After playing three seasons with the Kings in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Petersen signed a three-year contract extension with the franchise worth $15 million in the fall of 2021. At the time that he signed the three-year contract with the Kings, Los Angeles viewed him as an important part of the future of the franchise in the crease.
In the previous season, Petersen had posted a solid .911 save percentage, 2.89 goals-against average, and 3.9 goals saved above expected.
After signing the three-year contract extension, Petersen struggled to find any consistency in between the pipes for the Kings. He posted a career-low (at the time) .895 save percentage and -11.8 goals saved above expected in 35 appearances for the Kings in the 2022-23 season.
He would eventually spend most of his latter years with the Kings with the AHL affiliate Ontario Reign before he was dealt as part of the Ivan Provorov trade to the Flyers a few years ago.
Petersen spent this past regular season with Iowa in the AHL, registering a 13-16-2 record, an .896 save percentage, and a 2.73 goals-against average in 33 appearances. He was called up by the Minnesota Wild in emergency conditions this past regular season, but he didn't see any live-game action.
The last time Petersen appeared in an NHL game was with the Flyers in the 2023-24 season. He made five appearances, posting a 2-2-0 record, an .864 save percentage, and a 3.90 goals-against average.
He'll face an uphill battle to establish himself as a regular NHL goaltender again after spending this past couple of seasons in the minor leagues. But the PTO with Washington at least gives Petersen the chance to get in front of an NHL coaching staff and potentially earn a contract coming out of training camp and the preseason this fall.
Considering how Petersen was once viewed as a potential long-term answer in the crease for the Kings, his attempt to work his way back into the NHL could be an interesting storyline for LA fans to follow during training camp.
Petersen was originally selected in the fifth round (129th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft out of the University of Notre Dame.
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