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The Philadelphia Flyers have not been a competitive franchise in recent seasons. From 2021-22 through 2024-25, their best finish in the Metropolitan Division was sixth place. It was the only time they were over .500 for a campaign as well, going 38-33-11 in 2023-24. After a step in the wrong direction in 2024-25, Philly GM Daniel Briere had work to do in this NHL offseason.
The Flyers had a solid summer in NHL Free Agency and added a great draft class to go along with it. While the draft class was solid, many of their new additions will not see the ice for years to come as they develop at lower levels. This was a franchise that had plenty of needs to get back into competition, and they made some significant moves to solve some of their issues.
What did the Flyers need to do?
One major area of concern for Philadelphia was goaltending. In 2024-25, they were 28th in the NHL in goals against per game while sitting last in the league in save percentage. This is also not a new concern for the team. They ranked 31st in save percentage in 2023-24. Samuel Ersson was the primary goaltender for the team in 2024-25. He finished 45th in the NHL in GAA, while sitting tied for 49th in the league in save percentage.
Meanwhile, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov both saw time tending the twine for Philly. Both of them had higher goals against averages and lower save percentages than Ersson. If this team wants to compete in 2025-26, they need to address goaltending.
They also need to address their goal scoring woes. The club was 24th in the NHL in goals per game in 2024-25. The major issue was the creation of high danger scoring chances. The team was 16th in the NHL in creating high-danger scoring chances, but 12th in goals scored in high-danger areas. When the squad got into solid positions to score, they converted, but they did not find those positions. The Flyers needed to find someone who could create and convert those chances, specifically in five-on-five situations.
Dan Vladar helps with 1 issue
Dan Vladar has signed a two-year contract with the Flyers. The former 75th overall pick of the Boston Bruins will improve the goaltending situation. Briere noted that he has the chance to be the number one goaltender on the team, and his numbers back that up. The Czech netminder has not been the primary goaltender in his NHL career, but has been solid in his time in Calgary. He is coming off a great season in 2024-25, playing in 30 games with a 2.80 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. Both of those numbers would have made him the best goaltender in Philly.
He is expected to compete with Ersson for the top job, and a comparison of their career numbers suggests he should be able to do just that. Ersson has a slightly better goals against average at 2.98 compared to the 3.00 of Vladar. Vladar has the better save percentage, though, sitting at .895 for his career against the .888 of Ersson. He will turn 28 years old heading into this season, meaning he could be going into the prime of his career.
If the netminder can continue to improve and have close to a repeat season from 2024-25, the Flyers will be a much better team. While this was a solid move that filled a major need, it was not the perfect move for Philadelphia this summer.
Trevor Zegras addition was perfect move for Flyers
The Flyers acquired Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for two draft picks and Ryan Poehling. The former ninth overall pick of the Ducks has seen some ups and downs in his career. In 2021-22, he played in 75 games, lighting the lamp 23 times and adding 38 helpers. The next season, he played in 81 games, scoring 23 times and adding 42 assists. He has just not been at the same level in 2023-24 and 2024-25. In those two years, he played in a total of 88 games and found the back of the net just 19 times, while adding 29 assists.
He may solve another issue for the Flyers, though. He was fifth on the Ducks among forwards with over 41 games of play in high-danger chances created per 60 minutes. The Flyers struggled to get into high-danger scoring chances, but the forward has shown he can do just that in his career. Further, Zegras did not struggle to finish, sitting second in high-danger scoring chances converted per 60 minutes. Moreover, he is expected to move back to his natural center position, where he has had more success in his career.
Bringing in someone who can both create scoring opportunities and convert them was the perfect move for a franchise that has struggled to score.The Flyers should improve in 2025-26, but are still unlikely to make the playoffs despite a wide open Metropolitan Division.
They finished 25 points out of a playoff spot in 2024-25, and still have lots of work to do. Vladar and Zegras will certainly help them have more success on the ice, though. They should improve from being tied for last place in the Eastern Conference, and although it's unlikely they are one of the last eight teams standing next spring, it's a step in the right direction.
