It's been a long time since Flyers fans felt really good about their goaltending. To be honest, I'd go back about 12 years when they just acquired Iyla Brygalov and had Sergei Bobrovsky as his backup. Sadly, it turned out that Bryz was a bust and Bob would be traded away and become the best goalie in the league for the next decade. What fun!
Fast forward to today. Dan Vladar is entrenched as this team's netminder. He put forth one of the best seasons by a Flyers goalie in years. It is because of this that he was named team MVP last season and was given a fairly hefty extension.
So, you can imagine that Flyers' fans pretty much had their hearts stopped when they saw this in tonight's preseason game:
Dan Vladar exits the Flyers’ second preseason game with an injury. pic.twitter.com/gFl4VheXIb
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 22, 2026
Oh boy. That is....well. Is it bad? Hard to tell. He's not flopping around. He doesn't seem to be in great pain. He's in some discomfort, obviously. Is it a tweak? A stinger? A sprain? Maybe he's wanting out because it's "just a preseason game". After all, he was banged up in the playoff run last year.
It's being called an upper body injury. Well, what does that mean? Is it a banged up elbow? Is it a broken rib? That's not very descriptive. Maybe it is something serious, but it could be something minor. Dang! We'll find out soon enough. For now, let's just calm down and wait for more news.
What happens if Vladar has to miss time?
But the reason Flyers fans freak out is because we've been here before. We've lost a goalie to injuries and had to deal with some craptacular players in net recently. Sam Ersson wasn't terrible, but the team ran the poor guy into the ground. Felix Sandstrom couldn't put it together. Calvin Petersen couldn't cut it in the AHL, let alone the NHL. Don't say his name three times or he may appear in net.
When Vladar had to leave the game, the team turned goaltending duties over to Alexsei Kolosov. Wait, how is he still on the roster? This guy has been the worst parts of Bryz with the worst parts of many goalies...he's one half diva and one half headcase.
Now, in the past, the Flyers being forced to employ Kolosov would terrify you. He really isn't improving. And as for Ersson, after the Flyers ran him into the ground, they shipped him off to Toronto for Joseph Woll
Whether or not Vladar's early exit tonight is serious or not, the thought that at any moment an injury could strike is scary. However, this is where Woll comes in. The 28 year old goalie has played in parts of five seasons with Toronto. He's posted some good numbers. but the Leafs are a mess. It's one of the most stressful places to play hockey because the fans want to win now and the team seems to be highly ineffective at putting together anything stable. They are also super financially cash strapped, so off went Woll.
So, Woll had a rough season last year (.898 SV%, 3.74 GAA). This was part of a season why the Leafs, Stanley Cup contenders when the season began because of all the talent, ended up in last place. We can cut him some grace. His career numbers are 64-43-9 with a GAA of 2.94, a .906 save percentage, and four career shutouts. He also has some playoff experience which could come in handy, should that opportunity present himself.
After Woll, the Flyers still have Kolosov in the AHL. Carson Bjarnsson should be starting again for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in his second full season. Worst comes to worst, the Flyers could call him up to see if he can stand the pressure in the league.
As for Vladar, we'll see what happens. However, if he does have to miss some time, be it now or during the season, the team should be in good hands. At least we hope. We've been down this road before. Let's just hope it doesn't become 2018-19 when Philly used a record eight goalies that year. Yikes!
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