Following their 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 40 points. While the divisional race is still tight, with no team in the Metro more than six points behind the Flyers, offseason acquisitions Trevor Zegras and Dan Vladar are two cornerstones the team has lacked in the past to keep them in serious contention.
Even with the unfortunate news regarding Tyson Foerster, having a talent like Zegras in town will stifle the blow. He's also the game-changing forward they have been lacking for years, and his numbers prove that point.
Through 32 games, Zegras has 14 goals and 33 points, and he owns an astounding 18.2 shooting percentage. Since his monster production has been steady throughout the year for a team that ranks 25th in the league with 91 goals, there is no doubt Zegras will keep it up as the heart and soul of the Flyers' scoring attack.
As the season wears on, count on Zegras to elevate the play of those around him, especially now that Foerster will be missing five months. Once he helps the Flyers get more consistent in scoring, it will only further drive home that Danny Briere was right to take a gamble and make that summertime blockbuster trade for him.
While Trevor Zegras has excelled on the attack, Dan Vladar has been enjoying a career season
Even Danny Briere couldn't have anticipated Dan Vladar being much more than a serviceable second half of a goaltending tandem to Samuel Ersson. Vladar, who had just 105 games of NHL experience before coming to Philadelphia, arrived in town with a modest 0.895 save percentage, 2.99 GAA, and four shutouts.
Not bad numbers, but not what you would want from an incoming goaltender looking to, at best, split time in the net for a rebuilding hockey team. Instead, Vladar has rewarded the Flyers with a 12-5-3 record, a 0.910 save percentage, a 2.41 GAA, and 0.750 quality starts percentage.
Briere inked Vladar to a two-year bridge deal for $6.7 million and an eight-team no-trade clause, which at least would have brought stability to the Flyers' net for a couple of seasons. Instead, Vladar looks like he can be the franchise goaltender going forward. And better yet, his efforts have helped the Flyers rank fifth in the league in goals allowed with 87.
Overall, Trevor Zegras and Dan Vladar have shown that yes, rebuilding teams like the Flyers can look outside the organization for players who weren't going to last in their previous stops, and turn around their careers.
While we're still relatively early in the season, all signs point to Zegras and Vladar keeping up their stellar play. If and when that play keeps up for another few months, the Flyers will be serious playoff contenders, and they may even stay in contention for a top-three spot in the division.