There was a lot of skepticism after the Philadelphia Flyers signed goaltender Dan Vladař to a 2-year deal to kick off the free agent frenzy this past summer.
For starters, Vladař was not on anyone’s radar as a goaltender that the Flyers were looking into, but also because his $3.35 million cap hit seemed a little high for someone who had been a backup in Boston and Calgary.
What Vladař ended up doing from that moment on was nothing short of exceptional. The Czechia native put the Flyers on his back, won the team’s Bobby Clarke Award as team MVP, and pushed them to an improbable playoff berth that no one saw coming.
The 28-year-old will end his first season in Philadelphia with a 29-14-7 record in 51 starts across 52 games, as well as a 2.42 GAA and a .906 SV%. His previous highs were 30 games played, 29 starts, 14 wins, and a 2.80 GAA.
He is currently tied for 14th with Sergei Bobrovsky for games played (52), is tied for 8th in wins (29), is 3rd in GAA (2.42) behind just Scott Wedgewood (2.10) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.31), and while his save percentage wasn’t all that high (.906), he is tied or within reach of top goaltenders like Ilya Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman, and Jet Greaves.
Additionally Vladař was only behind Vasilevskiy for the amount of games played allowing 2 goals or less, something he managed once again in last night’s win-and-you’re-in game against Carolina.
Even looking at his analytical numbers, among goaltenders with over 40 games played, Vladař ranks 10th in goals saved above expected and wins above replacement, and 8th in high danger unblocked shot attempt save percentage.
He’s been everything that the fanbase and the team could have asked for in between the pipes. We have always wondered what the Flyers would look like if they were given above average goaltending. Had the wheels not fallen off in 2023-24 from a goaltending perspective, they were likely ticketed for a post-season berth. That was then followed up by the worst team save percentage in the cap era in 2024-25.
Enter Vladař.
The irony is that going into training camp and subsequently the season, Vladař was expected to serve in a tandem with Samuel Ersson, likely as the 1B to his 1A. However, he played extremely well in preseason games and earned the season’s opening start, an honour he held onto the entire year.
His play was exceptional coming out of the Olympic break as well. Vladař played in 19 of the ensuing 24 games, where he went 12-6-1 with a GAA below 2.30 and a save percentage just below .910. Ersson was used when necessary, but it was Vladař’s crease, and he earned every start he got.
Now heading into the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, all eyes will be fixated on Vladař and how he performs in his first post-season action of his career. If he’s anything like he was during the season, especially in the latter 2 months, they’ll have every opportunity to win games, and perhaps even the series itself.
It was a busy summer for the Flyers and the acquisition of Vladař was overshadowed by the Trevor Zegras trade, the Christian Dvorak one-year deal, and the Porter Martone draft pick. However, if we were to rank things all over again, I’m sure Vladař would be at the top of list now.
For once, there’s a stable force in between the pipes, and someone you can trust in any given situation; whether it’s a breakaway, a shot from a high-danger part of the ice, or a shootout, Vladař is there.
He was always seen as an exciting prospect when he was with the Bruins, but never got his opportunity with Tuukka Rask remaining an elite option. Once he was in Calgary, things didn’t change with Jacob Markström and Dustin Wolf taking the reins for the better part of his tenure.
In Philadelphia, things shifted completely in his favour and without him in goal, things would have looked very different. The Flyers are playoff bound for the first time since the COVID bubble and Vladař is a major reason why.
