Flyers goalies top the list for worst in the league

A good team can look to its goaltender as one of the reasons for its success. A good goaltender can steal a game at any time and erase mistakes from the skaters in front of them. Looking at the teams that will be competing for the Stanley Cup, you see many of these types of players in their nets.

Flyers fans are well aware that goaltending was among the top reasons that the playoffs were not in their future. They weren't expecting perfection, but even league-average play in the net might've changed their fate. It's an area they will need to target in the offseason.

They cannot run back more of the same after the results of this season. Sam Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov all spent time in the net at some point during the year. Due to injuries or poor play, having three goaltenders is not the problem. We're a long way from the year the Flyers had eight different goaltenders.

The problem is that none of the three established themselves enough to claim the net full-time. It gets worse than that. All three goaltenders found themselves on a list that no one wants to be on, which explains exactly what went wrong in Philadelphia.

That is not the only stat that shows how bad the Flyers' goaltending trio has done. But we've beaten that dead horse enough.

Sam Ersson

The Flyers have long hoped that Ersson could be the guy for them. And he's proven at times that he has what it takes. He can have stretches where he is nearly unbeatable, such as his run that earned him a nod for Sweden at the 4 Nations. And then there's what happened after the tournament.

It led John Tortorella to believe that Ersson would likely never be able to be a true starting goaltender. He would be better suited in a 1A/1B scenario. But Flyers' fans are well aware of the struggles they've had in the net before this year. It's been a long time since this organization has found a player capable of being the number one goaltender.

So, would they be on board with a player that can be so inconsistent? It's now been back-to-back seasons where Ersson has seemingly fallen apart in the final months of the year. Last season could be blamed on the fact that he was burned out in the team's push for the postseason. But it's hard to believe the same happened this year.

Maybe Ersson just isn't going to have the ability to backstop the Flyers for 50+ games. Maybe he needs someone behind him that could challenge him more. He certaintly didn't have inspiring options behind him.

Being at the top of the list as one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL this season is not something you want to see if you're Ersson or the Flyers. Maybe things get better as the team gets better. But it's starting to look like more than a coincidence.

Ivan Fedotov

It's hard to talk about Fedotov without mentioning the journey that it took to get here. That's why giving him the nod as the team's Masterton nominee was a no-brainer. But we can only look at that for so long without talking about what he has given Philadelphia in the net.

With a tall frame, Fedotov should have an ability to command space in the net. But does that matter if you don't know what to do with it? Fedotov's awkward moments and ability to lose himself in the net were easily spotted. His unorthodox movements got him to where he needed to be at times, but were never going to be sustainable.

He was demoted to the third goaltender multiple times throughout the year, but always responded when he was put back in the net. The Flyers committed themselves to him after only a few games last season. Fedotov is on the older side, turning 29 in November. A goaltender typically hits their prime a few years before that and can still be effective on the other side of 30.

With where the Flyers are and where they want to be, can they hope that Fedotov is just a late bloomer?

Aleksei Kolosov

Kolosov's journey was much different from Fedotov's. His time in Philadelphia brought drama along with it and may leave some behind as well. It's not a certainty that he will be back next season. Like Fedotov, he has been in and out of the net. Kolosov was also sent to the Phantoms on multiple occasions.

He played nearly an equal amount of games in the NHL and the AHL. The numbers are rather close, and they aren't good. Kolosov has the athletic ability to become a good goaltender at the pro level. But his biggest problem is the lack of experience and preparation. The former is not a knock on Kolosov as this was his first season at the NHL level. He is 23, which is a bit on the older side to be making your debut.

But it's his apparent unwillingness to work on his game at a lower level that is keeping him from becoming better. He was expected to take the reins in Lehigh Valley this year as their number one goaltender. There, he could get experience with lower stakes. He played four rather uninspiring games for the Phantoms before he was called up.

He went back in January, allowing 12 goals in three games before returning. Kolosov would appear in the AHL for one more stint before finishing the season with the Flyers. And the most notable factor is that he was not sent back to the Phantoms for the playoffs. That doesn't exactly speak well to what his future may be.

There have been rumors that he will return to the KHL next season, where Dynamo Minsk continues to hold his rights. If he does, that would almost certainly spell the end for him with the Flyers. Without more time, it's hard to say if his departure would be a loss. There wasn't enough time to decide that. But it wouldn't be a good look.