Philadelphia Flyers netminder Sam Ersson is quickly changing the narrative around his season with his recent stretch of performances since the Olympic break.
Goaltending has always been an Achilles heel for this club, and despite Dan Vladař’s MVP-esque impact this year, the backup position has been anything but.
Ersson struggled mightily after the New Year, posting a 2-6-1 record with a .835 SV% and allowing 33 goals going into the Olympic break, but since play resumed, the Swedish goaltender has gone 5-0-0 with a 1.46 GAA and a .933 SV%.
He hasn’t been called upon as much with Vladař doing most of the heavy lifting, but with a lot of back-to-backs put into the schedule and Vladař needing breaks, Ersson has shown up in big wins over the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Dallas Stars.
The Stars proved to be his toughest test and he came through with a 17-save performance, including a massive pad save against Wyatt Johnston late in the third period of a tie game – while shorthanded.
Not only is Ersson doing his best to help the Flyers make the playoffs, but he’s also playing for a contract, as he’s set for restricted free agency at the end of the year. While the Flyers haven’t shown their cards yet, it will be interesting to see if they want to bring back the 26-year-old in a backup role or look elsewhere.
Ersson has been a streaky netminder during his short tenure with the club, and this year was nothing different. We all remember his introduction to the NHL when he won his first 6 games, as well as his run in 2023-24 as Carter Hart’s backup.
However there’s also been the bad, like last year when he posted a .883 SV% and a 3.14 GAA across 47 games, or the disastrous late run in 2023-24 where he posted a 4-7-3 record, a .852 SV%, and a GAA over 3.30 in the home stretch of the season.
In fairness to his situation, a lot of that could be attributed to the fact that they ran him into the ground with no competent backups in the organization between Felix Sandström, Cal Petersen, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov.
His struggles this year are a bit different in that the team is a lot better in front of him and Vladař took over as the starting goaltender from their 1A/1B split to start the season.
Kolosov could be the next man up if they decide to not qualify Ersson and let him walk in free agency. That would give Kolosov the opportunity to stake his claim in the NHL as the backup to Vladař, while also giving Carson Bjarnason free rein in the minors.
The main issue is that the free agent market isn’t any better with veterans like Laurent Brossoit, Petr Mrázek, Cam Talbot, and Vitek Vaněček serving as your best options.
The trade market has already spit out a few names in Joseph Woll and Jesper Wallstedt, but both teams will be looking for big returns in exchange for their netminders.
If Ersson didn’t go on this run, it seemed very likely they would look elsewhere for a new backup in the interim as they wait for Bjarnason or Yegor Zavragin, but his recent play might have his foot in the door for the time being.
If he can continue playing this way until the end of the season, not only would that be beneficial for the team in their playoff push, but it would more than likely cement a qualification and even a contract extension. He should be afforded a few games down the stretch, including a back-to-back set on Thursday and Friday with the Detroit Red Wings and the New York Islanders.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login