The Flyers' goaltending problems are well-documented. Too well-documented. To be honest with you, I can't remember a time since the mid-90s that the "problems in net" haven't been mentioned by someone. From Hextall to Ersson, the goalies always to have always been an Achilles heel of this team.
The current tandem is not going to work out. I still believe Sam Ersson is a solid goalie and may have a future as the team's #1. If not, he could be a reliable backup. However, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov aren't cutting it. Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin might not be ready yet. The Flyers will need a short-term fix in the net to help Ersson out.
There aren't a lot of options on the free agent market. Most of them are on the wrong side of 30. It's going to be unclear if the Flyers will want someone that old or if someone that old will want to come to a rebuilding team.
Briere Could Swing a Trade with Anaheim
For most of this season, the Anaheim Ducks have been trying to move longtime goalie John Gibson. They were unable to do so at the deadline. He is one of the top trade candidates this offseason. They are hoping to accelerate their rebuilding process and seem pleased with younger goalie Lukas Dostal.
Gibson, who will turn 31 this July, has two years remaining on his contract at $6 million. Anaheim, so far, has been unwilling to eat some of that up. And hey, that salary for a better-than-average goalie isn't all that bad. Gibson appeared in just 29 games this season, putting up a .911 save percentage with a 2.77 GAA. Those aren't bad numbers when you consider he was playing on one of the worst teams in the NHL.
There is one slight caveat. One of the reasons the Ducks want to move him is that he has expressed a desire to go play for a contending team. Would he want to come to Philly? If he could be convinced that the Flyers are going to be moving in the right direction (new coach, great draft, good free agency pickups, etc), he might be willing. Maybe a conversation with Daniel Briere, Keith Jones, and the rest could help out. Maybe they could come to an agreement where, if he is not satisfied, they could trade him at the deadline next year.
So what would it take to procure his services? At the trade deadline, they wanted another goalie in return, plus a bunch of other pieces. Fedotov, Ersson, and Kolosov are signed on until next year, as is Bjarnason in the AHL.
The Ducks may not be as historic as the Flyers, but they are looking to get back to better times as well. The Flyers have three first-round picks. Perhaps one of those two lower picks could be packaged to get Gibson. Perhaps it might take Fedotov or Kolosov and another AHL prospect to make the move.
Good goalies are hard to find on the open market or in a trade. Considering the Flyers aren't going to win unless they can shore up the goalie situation, this is something the Flyers need to invest in. And once the younger goalies are ready to contribute, Gibson would be long gone. However, in the meantime, the team would be taking the necessary steps to move forward.
But if he doesn't want to come here, none of this speculation will matter. Still, doesn't hurt to inquire and see how he'd feel.