The Philadelphia Flyers entered the 2024-25 season not knowing what they were going to get in between the pipes.
Sam Ersson had never been handed the reins for a full season despite playing well as the 1B in a tandem the year prior. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov were in a competition for the backup job, and neither netminder showed that they could even be that at the NHL level.
Goaltending is always going to be a storyline in Philadelphia, and it was clear that the Flyers needed to address the position in the offseason. General manager Danny Briere did just that by signing veteran Dan Vladar to a two-year deal with a cap hit of $3.35 million.
There weren’t many great options available in free agency, but Vladar has some tools that the Flyers think they could work with.
“Our goalie coaches were excited about the package. There’s no perfect goalie that was available out there, but we feel he gives us a chance to come in and compete with our group and push the envelope,” Briere said after the signing. “He has a chance to become our number one, depending on how he plays, how the other guys play.”
Vladar has spent the majority of his career with the Calgary Flames. Last year, it looked like he might take a step forward from his 19 starts in an injury-shortened 2023-24 season. Off of hip surgery, the veteran was slated to share the net with rookie Dustin Wolf. Wolf ended up taking the net with Vladar sliding into a backup role.
“I wasn’t satisfied with my role in Calgary, and I want to keep moving forward,” Vladar said in his introductory press conference. “I just felt like Philly is the best path for me going forward. I’m 100 percent confident that I have a lot more in me.”
Despite getting put into that backup role, Vladar still made a career-high 29 starts, going 12-11-6 with an .898 save percentage and 2.80 goals-against average. He finished the season strong, though, going 6-1-1 with a .927 SV% in his final nine games (eight starts). He won his final four starts of the season, allowing seven goals on 96 shots (.932 SV%), while the Flames were pushing to make the playoffs.
Vladar is excited to be in Philadelphia and is ready to accept the role that he deserves, whether that’s the starting role, backup, or a split tandem with Ersson.
“Whether it’s going to be over 30 (games played) or under 30, it all depends,” he said. “How am I going to be playing? How is Sam going to be playing? I’ll just do my best, as I always did.”
It’s a refreshing mindset to see in a Flyers goalie, especially after the Kolosov-KHL saga last offseason.
Another important thing that Vladar should bring to the crease is stability. Even when Ersson had the night off as the backup last season, there was always the worry that the starter could allow a few early goals and force the Swedish netminder into action.
That shouldn’t be the case this coming season with Vladar. The 27-year-old netminder was not pulled from a single start last season, and was only pulled twice in 19 starts the year prior. We’ll see if that holds up as Vladar potentially plays a career-high in games next season, but it’s a great track record for the goalie to have.
All in all, it certainly looks like Vladar is going to have the right attitude as he competes with Ersson for the crease in training camp and throughout the upcoming season. The two should be able to have a healthy competition with each goalie looking to prove that they can be half of a solid tandem. And if they can do that? The Flyers will be able to better assess the team in front of them and could even make a playoff push in a weak Metropolitan Division.