Goaltending has not been a friendly topic in Philadelphia for quite some time. There hasn't been a player who has inspired confidence in the net for years. You may have to go back over 10 years to Steve Mason to find the last goaltender who found success with the Flyers. Beyond that? It's going to be a while.
And while the Flyers have some promising prospects in the pipeline, they don't have one that is ready to step into the spotlight. Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason need much more developmental time. Yegor Zavragin has posted incredible numbers in Russia, but his timeline for North America is unclear.
So when the Flyers signed Dan Vladar last summer, they faced some criticism that he wouldn't be the answer. Until this year, he had played backup to Jacob Markstrom and Dustin Wolf in Calgary. He hadn't been close to starting as a goaltender, appearing in no more than 30 games in one season. His numbers didn't show that he was capable of taking over a net for a team.
But he surprised everyone and played the biggest role in the Flyers' ending their playoff drought and making it to the second round. He appeared in a career-high 52 games and was one of the better goaltenders in the league statistically. Looking at those who played at least 2,000 minutes, which accounts for most starting goaltenders, Vladar was third in goals against average (2.42) and tied for the fifth-best save percentage (.906).
Vladar's playoff stats were even better. In 10 postseason appearances, he finished with a 2.18 GAA and a .922 SV%. There have been six shutouts during the entirety of the playoffs, and Vladar has two of them. His numbers are up there with Frederik Andersen, who has been outstanding for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Vladar earned a modest pay bump from his time with the Flames, but is in line to earn another raise as he is extension-eligible in July. And there has been a firm belief that both sides are more than interested in getting the deal done sooner rather than later. It's not a necessity for the Flyers, but it would be a nice reward for Vladar after the season he had.
Vladar’s breakout season has earned him a significant raise
So what might his next contract look like? Vladar, while playing like a top goaltender this past season, doesn't have the track record to break the bank on his next deal. So he's not going to command an Andrei Vasilevskiy or Igor Shesterkin type of deal. But it wouldn't be out of the question that he could, and should, double his salary.
AFP Analytics projected that Vladar's next contract would be worth over 6.3M on a five-year deal. That would take him through his age-33 season and could line up rather well with upcoming prospects. It will also depend on what the Flyers decide to do at the backup goaltender position, but they shouldn't be anywhere close to breaking the bank there. They could afford to give a higher salary if they aren't willing to go high on term.
Before signing anyone, Philadelphia has over 37M available this offseason. The buyout of Cam Atkinson, as well as the retention of salary from Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton, are off the books. Now, that doesn't mean they should spend the money just because they have it. But they are in a healthy position to pay a player who more than deserves it.
Vladar very clearly established himself as the Flyers' number one option in net. And there is plenty of hope that he can continue to do so in the coming years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google