Flyers free-agent target: G Karri Ramo

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Each day from now until July 1, the day free agency begins, Tom Dougherty and Tim Riday will profile some of the NHL's top impending free agents and project their likelihood of signing with the Flyers.

Karri Ramo, goalie
Age: Turns 29 in July
Height: 6-2
Weight: 206
Last team: Calgary Flames
2014-15 cap hit: $2.750 million

Scouting report
Blessed with good size and tremendous quickness, Ramo is able to cover up a lot of the net. He's also remarkably calm and collected under pressure. Still needs to be more consistent on a game-to-game basis, but is a reliable netminder.

Ramo was selected in the sixth round (191st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft by Tampa Bay. He made his first NHL start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 20, 2007, but bounced back and forth between the Lightning and the AHL throughout his first three seasons in North America.

With the prospect of a return to the AHL for the 2009-10 season, Ramo opted to sign a two-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the KHL instead. His NHL rights were traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Cedrick Desjardins on Aug. 16, 2010.

Still playing with Avangard Omsk, Ramo's rights were again traded in January of 2012. Along with Michael Cammalleri and a fifth-round pick, Ramo was dealt to the Calgary Flames for Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland and a second-round pick.

Ramo posted stellar stats during his four-year tenure in the KHL, He went 99-48-22 with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. He also recorded 18 shutouts.

He agreed to return to the NHL when he signed a two-year deal worth $5.8 million with the Flames on July 5, 2013. Over the past two seasons, he's appeared in 74 games for Calgary, posting a 32-24-7 record.

Dougherty's projection
With other teams needing an answer in net, I believe Ramo could find a starting job elsewhere. But the Flyers should totally do whatever they can to convince him to take a backup role here. Will it happen? Most likely not, but Ramo would be an excellent backup to Steve Mason.

Like I said before, my No. 1 is Jhonas Enroth — because I feel it's more realistic, same goes for Thomas Greiss. Ramo showed he can play this past season in splitting duties with Jonas Hiller. He's a guy GM Ron Hextall should give a call.

Riday's projection
Ramo is a guy I'd love to see in orange and black. Problem is, he still has the potential to be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. Steve Mason is the guy in Philadelphia and Ramo would have to accept a backup job to join the Flyers.

Buffalo, Edmonton and San Jose are all in need of a starter and have the cap space to offer Ramo a contract in the neighborhood of $3 million to $4 million per season — way out of the Flyers' price range — on a multi-year deal.

The major question: Do any of those teams have faith in Ramo? There's also a chance he returns to Calgary. He split starting duties most of last season with hot-and-cold Jonas Hiller and performed admirably.

Hillar was Bob Hartley's first choice when the Flames began their playoff run, but Ramo was the one who clinched Game 6 of the team's first-round series with the Vancouver Canucks. Ramo also took over after Hiller faltered in Game 1 of the second round, but the Anaheim Ducks wound up taking the series.

Behind Devan Dubnyk, Ramo is arguably the most coveted free-agent netminder this summer. After fine-tuning his game in the KHL and two solid years in the NHL, Ramo's stock is rising. He's still young, too. So I don't think the Flyers will be in play. That's not to say Hextall won't be interested. It just seems like Ramo will land elsewhere with a chance to play every night.

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