Sam Ersson will once again be the Flyers starting goaltender heading into the 2024-25 season. Having taken over the role when Carter Hart took his leave of absence in late January, Ersson was thrust into the role. The team more than trusted their cool, calm, and collected netminder. Maybe a little too much.
As evident by some of his numbers late in the season, Ersson was burned out by the time things mattered most for the Flyers. The options behind him were Cal Petersen, Felix Sandstrom, and then Ivan Fedotov to end the season. Desperately clinging onto a playoff spot, the team couldn't afford any mistakes, especially in the net.
But in doing so, they ended up creating one by playing Ersson even when he was struggling. Previous evidence has shown that Ersson hasn't been able to handle a huge workload. The same happened late in the 2022-23 season with the Phantoms. Pushing for a playoff spot until nearly the last minute, Ersson was once again burned out and imploded in the playoffs. He gave up 12 goals in three games and was in the net for nearly 100 minutes in an eventual overtime loss. Forced to play the next game, he gave up four goals and was pulled in the second period.
Not many goaltenders these days are equipped to play nearly a full season like they used to. Well, unless you're Juuse Saros who has played nearly 70 games a season recently. One of the biggest things for the Flyers to watch will be Ersson's workload. Taking a look at his stats once taking over as the starting goaltender, the trend is clear.
Flyers need to watch Sam Ersson's workload this upcoming season
January
Record: 3-4-1
GAA: 2.72
SV%: .889
Ersson took over as the starting goaltender in late January but we'll take a look at the entire month for a larger sample size. He appeared in nine games, his most to date in a single month up until that time. It wasn't the smoothest of months with Ersson being pulled in one of his outings and losing four straight to end the month.
February
Record: 5-2-1
GAA: 2.39
SV%: .909
Ersson settled into the starting goaltender role rather well in February, posting much better numbers than the previous month. He won three straight and helped the Flyers get a point in the fourth game. Ersson split the final four games with two wins and two losses.
March
Record: 4-5-3
GAA: 3.50
SV%: .868
March is when things began to fall apart. The 12 games were a season-high in a month after earning a new high in January. Ersson gave up a single goal in two games, giving up three or more in seven games. Without a stable partner behind him, Ersson was forced to play through a lot of struggles.
April
Record: 2-3-0
GAA: 3.11
SV%: .873
Ersson was pulled in two of his six games, lasting only 20 minutes in the opening game of the month. The Flyers came back to tie and force overtime so Ersson was spared a decision. He stabilized with two important back-to-back wins, but it became too late despite Ersson playing well in the team's final game.
What we can gather from the above stats is that while Ersson found his footing in February, having to play nearly every game hurt him as time wore on. It's why getting Fedotov adjusted to the NHL should be another important point for the Flyers. Give him a majority of the play in preseason as he has more to prove. Once he becomes more comfortable, the team will have a better idea of when they can rest Ersson.
If they can give Ersson some rest at certain points of the season, it may be the key to keeping him fresh for when the games matter most.