One of the most frustrating things about this current Flyers season is the fact that we know that there is talent there. We can see that there is a lot of potential on offense. Some of the defenders, like Rasmus Ristolainen, are having some of their best seasons of their careers. And yet, despite all of this, the Flyers are so annoyingly inconsistent. They'll win three games in a row and then lose the next four.
One of the major issues is the goaltending. We haven't seen any sort of consistency from the troika of Sam Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov. Ersson is by far the best of these three, but that isn't saying much. Looking at their stat lines, there is not a lot to be excited about.
Goalie | Record | Save Pct. | GAA | Shutouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ersson | 18-12-4 | .889 | 2.97 | 2 |
Fedotov | 5-11-3 | .884 | 3.08 | 0 |
Kolosov | 4-8-1 | .870 | 3.45 | 0 |
Again, Ersson has an edge here; especially with the two shutouts. At 25 years old, he still has a lot to learn, but can improve. After all, former Flyer Sergei Bobrovsky was given up on early and is now in the top 10 all time in goalie wins. He is still young enough where he can bounce back. Furthermore, he has shown he can be resilient, especially when the Flyers aren't burning him out.
As for the backups....yeesh. Fedotov is 28. I'm not sure he can do enough to earn a starting spot here. Kolosov is 23 and could grow up a bit more, but he has looked super shell shocked. His performance with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms hasn't been much better.
Now, to be fair, the goalies can only be as good as the defense in front of them. There have been too many times that the Flyers defenders have left them out to dry. Turnovers in transitions that become odd-man rushes are disastrous for a goalie. Even great goalies struggle in those moments.
With all that said, the Flyers need to fix their goaltending situation. Here are some ideas the Flyers could do to help the problems in net.
Rest Ersson
I still think Ersson could be a good goalie in the NHL. We can't burn him out again this year. I'm also concerned about him losing confidence in himself. So, give him a break. Rest him more often. Let him get his mojo back. This season is shot anyway. Why destroy future seasons by wrecking your best current goalie? I think he still has a future here in Philadelphia, but he needs help. He can't carry the burden by himself.
Change up the Backups
Let's be honest, we all knew at the beginning of the season that the goalie situation was going to be the Achilles heel of this team. Again, the defense and offense have their roles in this lost season as well, but this was the weak spot. Fedotov and Kolosov have not helped out all that much and have left Ersson having to shoulder much of the effort. This is where you have to think ahead to next year.
More importantly, figure out which one you want to ditch between Fedotov and Kolosov. Keep one and stash them in the AHL after this season. Cut the other. Maybe next year, Eetu Makiniemi will be healthy. Maybe it might be time to call Carson Bjarnason up to the AHL and see what he can do. But the Russian duo we have is not working out. Having poor backups makes the team want to lean on Ersson more, and that creates other problems.
Search the Free Agent Market
As stated earlier this year, there are not a lot of good picks in this year's free agency class for netminders. Part of that is because teams don't let good goalies walk in free agency. With that being said, most of the players available are on the wrong side of 30.
First, we can see if Robin Lehner's hip, which hasn't worked since 2021-22, is better. Though he appears to have other issues at play as well. Vitek Vancek will be a free agent as will former Flyer Alex Lyon. Or there is Anton Forsberg or former Penguins goalie Matt Murray.
The point is, there are not a lot of good options out there in terms of UFAs. As far as RFAs go, you might be able to snag Jake Oettinger, Danill Tarasov, or Michael DiPietro, but that would cost you draft picks or a big trade. Even then, these would end up being your starters from here on out.
Yes, the Flyers have a lot to fix as they move forward. The power play is still anemic, just as it has been for the better part of the last decade. The defense is still inconsistent. The offense could use a solid center as well as another sniper on the wing.
However, figuring out how to fix the goaltending situation for this team should be the top priority moving forward. Of course, Flyers fans have seemingly been saying this since Ron Hextall retired.