Entering the offseason on the heels of another losing campaign, the Philadelphia Flyers knew they had to address their goaltending, after a disastrous showing that saw them post a salary-cap-era worst save percentage as a collective unit.
The goaltending market was shallow, especially after Jake Allen signed an extension with New Jersey right before the 12:00 PM deadline on July 1st. The Flyers worked fast and Dan Vladař was their second signing of the day after bringing in Christian Dvorak in the early stages of free agent frenzy.
Vladař signed a 2-year contract worth $3.35 million per season, which was a slightly steeper than some of his counterparts, but as we head through American Thanksgiving, the gamble has paid off handsomely as the Flyers sit tied in a 3-way race for the first spot in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race entering Saturday.
One question that has been asked several times over the last few seasons is what the Flyers would look like with average goaltending. 2023-24 was the prime example, considering they held a playoff spot in the first half of the season mostly because of their goaltending duo of Samuel Ersson and Carter Hart, before an epic collapse in the final weeks of the season.
Things didn’t get any better in 2024-25 with the Flyers employing three goaltenders in Ersson, the disgruntled Aleksei Kolosov, and the faltered Ivan Fedotov. They posted a dismal 87% team save percentage with Ersson holding the best numbers, which was a 3.14 GAA and a .883 SV%.
Nothing could have been worse than that, but it definitely helped that Vladař came into Philadelphia with a proven track record as a dependable backup goaltender from his days in Boston and Calgary. He entered the 2024-25 season in a tandem with Dustin Wolf before the rookie sensation took over the reigns in the back-half of the season.
He was spectacular at 5v5, rivalling some of the league’s top netminders like Ilya Sorokin and Sergei Bobrovsky, but could he replicate that level of success in Philadelphia, under a new coaching regime to boot.
That age old question has been answered in a variety of ways, but perhaps none more important or surprising than the fact that the Flyers are currently tied for fourth-best in the league in goals allowed at 64. They are tied with the Lightning and Kings, and trail only the Penguins (60), Kraken (59), and Avalanche (50).
The Czechia native has posted fantastic numbers, which includes a 9-4-2 record, a 2.39 GAA, and a .913 SV%. He even started out the season with a scintillating .939 SV% in his first 6 games, and while there were a few bumps in the road since then, he’s been mostly on top of his game night in and night out, helping the Flyers start off the season on the right foot.
Heading into Saturday’s slate of action, the Flyers are tied with Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders for the first Wild Card while also being only 1 point back of third in the Metropolitan Division (the Washington Capitals at 30 points), 3 points out of second spot (the Carolina Hurricanes at 32 points), and 4 points out of first (the New Jersey Devils at 33 points), all while having games in hand on most.
Just taking Wednesday’s game into consideration, since that was a microcosm of his season to date, we witnessed Vladař’s heroics in action. The Florida Panthers jumped to a 2-0 lead, in large part to a 15-shot barrage in the first. The Flyers looked dead in the water after a sleepy start, but Vladař kept them in it long enough so they could score 4 unanswered goals on just 11 shots through the final 2 periods en route to a massive road victory.
Overall, it’s been a smashing success in the first year of a two-year contract, considering he’s taken the reigns as the 1A to Ersson’s 1B in the Flyers’ goaltending tandem. Vladař has continued off his solid preseason with an even better showing in the regular season, and it’s the first time in what feels like an eternity, that we can trust our goaltending.
Even among his counterparts, Vladař is in great company with the likes of Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman, and Logan Thompson among others. He ranks 12th league-wide in goals saved above expected, 14th in goals saved above expected per 60, 12th in wins above replacement, 19th in medium danger unblocked shot attempt save percentage, and 8th in high danger unblocked shot attempt save percentage, per MoneyPuck.
Last year, the Flyers collectively allowed 2 goals or less on 22 occasions, which is something that Vladař has already done 10 times at the quarter-mark of the season – the Flyers didn’t reach that feat until December 12th, which was their 30th game of the season.
The 28-year-old has posted made 30+ saves on 4 occasions this year, has posted a save percentage above 92% on 9 separate times, and he’s 6th in save percentage and goals against average amongst goaltenders who have played 10+ games this season.
The Eastern Conference is as tight as we’ve seen in recent years, but the Flyers will have a great opportunity to jump some of their counterparts coming out of Thanksgiving.
They have 2 more games against divisional opponents after Friday’s win on Long Island, and all of those teams are within reach in the standings right now. They’ll play a matchup in New Jersey on Saturday, and then will receive a visit from their cross-state rivals from Pittsburgh to kick off December.
Vladař is expected to handle both of those games after Ersson played on Friday. The Flyers have only played 5 games against their own division so far, but Vladař is 1-0-0 with the 6-3 victory against New Jersey last week under his belt.
It will be interesting to see if the Prague native can continue his success heading into the Christmas break, and even a bit further as the schedule gets heavily condensed with the Olympic break eating up 3 weeks of the season.
Vladař will also have a chip on his shoulder as he would love to impress the decision makers of Czechia’s national team. His performance to start the season has only solidified his position amongst his counterparts as he will continue to duel and/or fend off the likes of Anaheim Ducks duo Lukáš Dostál and Petr Mrázek, Utah Mammoth duo Karel Vejmelka and Vítek Vaněček, as well as the Montreal Canadiens’ Jakub Dobeš.
A trio involving Vladař, Dostál, and Dobeš should give the Czechs some confidence as they enter the Olympics with hopes of competing for a medal.
As for the Flyers, they’ll likely lean on him over the next several weeks as they continue to make inroads towards a playoff spot, which is something they haven’t clinched or qualified for in 5 seasons.
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