Another year, another summer where the Philadelphia Flyers will be perusing the goaltending market.
At the very least, this time around they won’t be looking for a starting netminder, as Dan Vladař will be reprising that role to start the 2026-27 season.
However, the backup dilemma will be brought up once again with Samuel Ersson hitting restricted free agency, and the Flyers aren’t reportedly too keen on bringing him back into the fold.
DFO’s Anthony Di Marco tackled the topic last week when he talked about where the Flyers currently stand on their goaltenders. He talked about what a Vladař extension would look like and how the front office could sign him once he becomes eligible for an extension on July 1st.
The more interesting topic resided with Ersson and whether or not the Flyers will look to replace him this summer. The 26-year-old will be a restricted free agent but due to his up-and-down nature, there are a lot of question marks.
Di Marco noted that the Flyers could look to spark up a conversation with the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll under contract and Dennis Hildeby more than ready to make the jump full-time, the Leafs could look to move one of Stolarz or Woll, and the Flyers have held interest in the latter for some time now.
Joseph Woll
Woll, just like every other member of the Maple Leafs, endured a rough 2025-26 season where he posted a 15-16-7 record in 39 games to go along with a 3.34 GAA and a .898 SV%. It was a stark contrast to his previous campaign, where he went 27-14-1 in 42 games with a .909 SV$% and a 2.73 GAA.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old would form a solid 1A/1B tandem with Vladař, but would likely cost more to acquire than Stolarz. The Leafs haven’t shown their cards quite yet on which direction they want to head towards, but Stolarz is older and has dealt with injuries over his career, while never appearing in more than 34 games in a season.
Based on his young career, 2025-26 looked to be the outlier for Woll, who had gone 48-27-2 in 78 games with a .910 SV% and a 2.74 GAA between 2022 to 2025. The Missouri native also has some playoff experience under his belt with a 6-6 record, .906 SV%, and a 2.73 GAA in 14 games across 3 different playoff runs.
Woll also dealt with some personal issues this year as he didn’t make his season debut until the middle of November. However, upon his return, Woll looked to have come back to action without missing a beat, posting an 11-4-2 record in his first 17 games with a .919 SV%.
His next 21 games were a different story, where he posted a .883 SV% and a 3.9 GAA en route to a 4-12-5 record, but the Leafs as a whole struggled mightily.
From the moment Woll returned to action – and during his 11-4-2 stretch – the Leafs went 15-8-5 and were looking to finally make in-roads towards a playoff spot. However, things took a drastic turn and they finished the year 9-20-7 from that point forward, including 7 straight losses to end the year.
It was hardly Woll’s fault as the Leafs were dealing with a plethora of injuries at all positions throughout the season. Nevertheless, Woll’s play left a lot to be desired, which could help the Flyers in not only making him available, but perhaps lowering the asking price altogether.
Comparatively, Ersson and Woll aren’t too far off from one another.
Since 2023-24:
Games Played: Ersson – 131, Woll – 106
Record: Ersson – 59-47-17, Woll – 54-41-9
GAA/SV%: Ersson – 3.01 GAA/.883 SV%, Woll – 3.00 GAA/.904 SV%
The only really difference between the two came from their respective save percentages. In fact, those numbers don’t change all that much when you compare a more recent sample size between 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Since 2024-25:
Games Played: Woll – 81, Ersson – 80
Record: Woll – 42-30-8, Ersson – 36-28-10
GAA/SV%: Woll – 3.02 GAA/.904 SV%, Ersson – 3.13 GAA/.878 SV%
Woll has been the better goaltender over the last 3 seasons but it’s not a massive difference. Nevertheless, Woll does feel like a more reliable option as he has played in a tougher market, knows how to play in a tandem, and has performed better – albeit slightly.
He also carries a $3.67 million dollar cap hit until 2028, whereas Ersson would need to be re-signed. In Ersson’s case, I highly doubt he breaks the bank or gets anything longer than two years in term with how he’s done in recent years and how he still has a lot to prove.
If the Flyers pass on Woll or find the cost of acquisition to be too high, they can look to another Atlantic Division team in the Buffalo Sabres.
Devon Levi
With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon under contract, Devon Levi has reportedly become expendable, and do not be surprised if the Flyers renew interest in the former seventh round pick.
The 24-year-old has found himself on the outs in Buffalo and has even lost standing to Colton Ellis, who was a regular third goaltender on the NHL roster throughout the season after being claimed off waivers.
Levi burst onto the scene with Northeastern University shortly after his draft year, where he posted a 21-10-1 record with a .952 SV% in 32 games during the 2021-22 season. He then posted a 17-12-5 record with a .933 SV% the following season before joining the Sabres.
He’s appeared in 39 NHL games, and only 9 since 2024-25, as he’s been an AHL mainstay with the Rochester Americans. Over the last two seasons, Levi has posted a 48-33-13 record with .912 SV% across 94 games, showcasing he can still play manageably well.
Like most players acquired during the Kevyn Adams era, Levi did not live up to expectations after he was acquired from the Florida Panthers in a deal involving Sam Reinhart. He couldn’t trump Luukkonen and he has lost out on the backup role to Eric Comrie, James Reimer, and Lyon/Ellis since his arrival.
In his short tenures at the NHL-level, Levi posted a 17-17-2 record with a .894 SV% and a 3.29 GAA in 39 games across 3 seasons. It’s hard to say if he’d be an automatic upgrade over Ersson with just 39 games of experience, but what helps is he’s under contract for one more season at a cap hit of just $813K.
A third option resides in another Atlantic Division team, this time with the Detroit Red Wings.
Sebastian Cossa
This one is a little harder to gauge, but should Cossa become available, he is someone the Flyers should heavily pursue to bridge the gap until the arrivals of Carson Bjarnason and/or Yegor Zavragin.
Cossa was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft with the 15th overall selection after going 17-1-1 record with a .941 SV% and a 1.57 GAA in 19 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL.
He responded with a 33-9-3 record in 46 games the following year with a 2.28 GAA and a .913 SV% en route to a championship in his final junior season.
Cossa has since been a member of the Red Wings’ minor league system with both the Grand Rapid Griffins in the AHL and the Toledo Walleyes of the ECHL. For the latter, he posted a 26-16-4 record with a .913 SV% and a 2.56 GAA in 46 games during the 2022-23 season.
Cossa has been one of the more consistent goaltenders in the AHL over the last 3 seasons, having posted a 70-33-18 record in 123 games with a 2.46 GAA and a .911 SV%, but interestingly enough has lost out on the starting gig during the playoffs.
Despite helping the Griffins claim the second-best record in the AHL with a 26-8-4 record, 5 shutouts, a .915 SV%, and 2.33 GAA, Michal Postava has been the starting goaltender during their playoff run.
Postava is only 24 years old and was just as good for the Griffins during the regular season, where he went 17-6-0 with a .937 SV% and a 1.71 GAA in 25 games as the clear-cut backup. However, they turned to him for the playoffs, where he’s appeared in all 8 games thus far and has played well for his part (.912 SV% and a 2.09 GAA).
The Red Wings also have prospect Trey Augustine playing brilliantly for Michigan State University, leaving Cossa a little more expendable.
The immediate future is a little unknown for Detroit at the moment with John Gibson signed through the 2026-27 season, but Cam Talbot is expected to become a free agent this summer. However, the future seems to be in good hands with Augustine and Postava.
It’s no secret that Detroit is looking to make a splash to finally end their long playoff drought. They tried this year when they moved a first round pick to St. Louis for Justin Faulk, but the gamble didn’t pay off as they missed the playoffs and handed the Blues a lottery pick.
GM Steve Yzerman reportedly held interest in Rasmus Ristolainen before pivoting to Faulk, so perhaps the Flyers could use him as a trade piece in a deal involving Cossa. The Wings would need more to sweeten the deal, but the Flyers have plenty of draft capital and young assets to appease a move.
Detroit needs help on the blue-line, albeit not so much on the right side with Faulk, Moritz Seider, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, and Anton Johansson in the mix. However, that’s not a very convincing group of defenders outside of Seider – something that Ristolainen can help with.
Flyers
If Vladař can replicate his 2025-26 season, he not only will play in a majority of contests, but he will be in line to sign a reasonable contract extension. Di Marco believes there’s a 5-6 year deal isn’t out of the question, but the Flyers should be wary before making such a commitment to a goaltender.
The modern day NHL goalie is inconsistent at best and long-term deals rarely ever play out the way you expect. Nevertheless, Vladař showcased he can be a reliable starting goaltender and can bridge the gap until Bjarnason and/or Zavragin are ready for the show.
What the Flyers need in interim is a backup goaltender they can rely on to play 30-35 games or pick up the pieces should injures arise. Aleksei Kolosov is the next man up, but he hasn’t played particularly well since his arrival from the KHL, leaving a continuous void in between the pipes.
Cossa, Levi, and Woll fit the moniker of what the Flyers are looking for and should all be readily available if they decide to finally jump ship from Ersson.
