The Philadelphia Flyers had an eventful offseason, highlighted by their trade for Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras. The team had a desperate need for goaltending help, and there weren't any big name goalies available. The Flyers landed on Calgary Flames netminder Dan Vladar, who they signed to a two-year, $6.7 million contract.
The Vladar signing wasn't met with many rave reviews from Flyers fans. Let's face it, Vladar doesn't have the name power, and his track record hadn't been the greatest during his time with the Flames and Boston Bruins. But thus far in the season, Vladar has been stellar for the Flyers and the answer to their goaltending woes.
Vladar is now getting national attention.
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski unveiled his list of the most shocking players through the first month of the 2025-26 season, 10 good and five bad. Vladar made the list for "shockingly good" players this early in the season.
Dan Vladar makes ESPN's list for 'shockingly good' players one month into 2025-26 season
"After three goalies combined for a .872 team save percentage last season, worst in the NHL, GM Daniel Briere signed one of the few decent free-agent options on the market in Vladar to a two-year deal. ... Now, he's arguably the Flyers' MVP early in the season," writes Wyshynski.
"Philly is 8-5-3 through 16 games under Rick Tocchet, sitting in a wild-card spot entering Wednesday night. Vladar won six of those games against three losses, with a .919 save percentage and six goals saved above expected."
Vladar is not only having a season better than anyone expected, but he's also garnering national attention.
Statistically, Vladar hasn't had the best of careers before signing his two-year contract with the Flyers. Vladar made his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season with the Boston Bruins. In just five games, Vladar posted a .886 save percentage, a 3.40 goals allowed average, and a 2-2-1 record. After that season, Vladar moved to Calgary. In four years, Vladar recorded a .895 save percentage and a 2.97 goals allowed average in 100 games.
In total, Vladar had a .895 save percentage, a 2.99 goals allowed average, and a 49-34-16 record.
Since joining the Flyers, he had some notable performances. There was his second start of the season against the Florida Panthers, where he stopped 24-of-26 shots on goal to help Philadelphia get a 5-2 win. Then, there's his Oct. 30 showing against the Nashville Predators, where he stopped 32 of 33 shots on goal in the 4-1 victory.
The Flyers have always had issues finding the right goaltender, especially in recent years. But so far, it seems as though Vladar has been everything the Flyers could have hoped for, and then some.