Rick Tocchet comes to the Philadelphia Flyers with a few big questions. Aside from the power play (which still might be secondary in importance), the goaltending question is the biggest hurdle separating the Flyers from the playoffs. Last year was horrible. Flyers general manager Danny Briere emphasized that nothing would be given to the trio of Sam Ersson, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov this coming year. They’d have to earn it. That is if they were still here when training camp rolled around. That was highlighted with Philadelphia signing Dan Vladar to a two-year deal on July 1.
But how does Tocchet gel with the idea of using two or more goaltenders? Well, if history is any indication, he doesn’t have a problem with it. But more often than not, there’s a number one goaltender that Tocchet will run with come hell or high water.
Tocchet is entering his tenth season as a head coach after having previous stints in Tampa Bay, Arizona and Vancouver. Of those previous nine seasons (including two shortened due to the pandemic), six of them featured Tocchet using a goaltender at least 40 times a season or more. Of those six, three times he’s seen a goaltender play 50 or more games for him. The three occasions included twice in Vancouver (once with Thatcher Demko (51) in 2023-24 and the following season with the Canucks with Kevin Lankinen (51). Prior to that, Tocchet used Darcy Kuemper 55 times in the 2018-19 season with Arizona.
Three other occasions Tocchet saw his starter used between 40 to 49 games. In 2017-18, Antti Raanta played 47 games for Arizona. That same season the Coyotes were forced to use six different goaltenders, with Kuemper (10) and Scott Wedgewood (20) picking up most of the slack while Louis Domingue (7), Adin Hill (4) and Mark Langhamer (1) were used sparingly. Meanwhile the Lightning in Tocchet’s second year behind the bench (2009-10) saw Antero Niittymaki (49) and Mike Smith (42) used nearly all season. Only Dustin Tokarski was the other netminder used, and he saw action twice. Finally, in Tocchet’s first year with Tampa back in 2008-09, Mike Smith was in for 41 games while Karri Ramo (24) and Mike McKenna (15) took most of the other games. Olaf Kolzig (8) and Riku Helenius (1) also saw short stints that year.
What this shows is Tocchet generally like to ride a goaltender. Of course nobody should be comparing any of the current Flyer goaltenders to Thatcher Demko or Mike Smith in their primes. But if Tocchet sees either Ersson or Vladar riding high and gaining confidence with each game, don’t be surprised to see him used over half the season. It wouldn’t be the first time Ersson saw that kind of workload. In 2023-24 Ersson was thrust into a no-win situation down the stretch with Philadelphia having no plan B after what happened to the former goalie. Ersson was run into the ground, ending the season with 51 games played. Last year was not much different, with Fedotov and Kolosov simply not being good enough or anything close to consistent to give Ersson a little bit of a breather. Ersson was the best of what was a very bad batch of keepers.
As well, in seven of those same nine seasons with Tocchet as a head coach, a third goaltender was used at least 10 games or more. The two seasons Tocchet saw his goaltenders used almost evenly was 2019-20 in Arizona where Raanta played 33 games, Kuemper with 29 and Hill at 13. The 2022-23 season in Vancouver saw Demko with 32 games, Spencer Martin with 29 and Collin Delia with 20 (and Artus Silovs with 5 games).
So, with all that information, is there anything to read into how the 2025-26 Flyers will end up regarding who will be the “starter” and how many starts each of the two (or three or four) get? Well, we know Ersson has played 40 or more games twice in his NHL career. He’s also played just over that amount with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms back in 2022-23. And while playing in Sweden twice. Once in the Swedish league for Brynas IF Gavie in 2020-21 and with Brynas Jr. in the Swedish junior league in 2017-18.
We also know that for all the possibility of Vladar usurping Ersson and becoming the starter for the Flyers, he has yet to play 40 games in any season in the NHL. The closest he came to that was 30 last season in Calgary. The last (and only) time he played over 40 games was back in the ECHL. There he appeared in 41 games for the Atlanta Gladiators in 2017-18. For most of his career, regardless of the level, Vladar (who turns 28 on Aug. 20) has been often in the range of 20 to 30 games a season. That isn’t to say Vladar wouldn’t be eager to see career highs (starts, wins, positive-leaning stats) in his first year as a Flyer. But how he might handle the workload remains anyone’s guess.
As if it wasn’t murky enough with having Ersson, Vladar, Fedotov and Kolosov in the conversation, the schedule is certainly going to test both the starter, the back-up or the tandem. It’s almost a given Vladar will have 14 starts as Philadelphia has 14 instances where they’re playing back-to-back games. As well, with 19 occasions playing three in four and a mind-boggling 24 instances where they’re playing four in six nights, regardless of who the backup (or co-starter) is, they are going to get some work. You can’t run one goaltender out that often given how tightly packed the schedule is. You’re only asking to see that goaltender injured, which would make an already tenuous situation currently that much worse. If that happens, the idea of seeing either Fedotov or Kolosov (who still can’t be here when the season starts, can he?) get 18 to 20 games (or more) would probably mean a sixth season missing the playoffs.
When it’s all said and done, Tocchet is going to go with the goaltender he thinks is giving him the best chance to win each and every time. Ideally all goaltenders used this year are healthy from start to finish. It’s a bit more realistic though that on a few occasions when the games are highly concentrated that Fedotov might see some playing time and get the call from Lehigh Valley. It would seem almost impossible that Tocchet sees both Ersson and Vladar at training camp and the pre-season and believes he can split the season right down the middle, alternating them every other game. So, taking everything into consideration, this writer predicts the following: Sam Ersson will be the “A” starter and have about 40 starts at the end of the 82-game season. Vladar will be a credible “B” starter with roughly 32 appearances. That would leave Fedotov picking up the remaining 10 games, primarily to give both Vladar and Ersson much-needed breathers while also possibly rewarding him for being a good foot soldier and not rocking the boat in Lehigh Valley as he plays out the final year of his contract.
Having played in Philadelphia, Tocchet knows the pressures the Flyers goaltenders have been under dating back to Ron Hextall and the late Pelle Lindbergh. No goaltender among these current four will be mistaken for either. But somehow managing to put up average numbers and a .900 (or more) save percentage will keep the Flyers in the hunt. And help the offense and defense gain some confidence and relax knowing every opponent’s shot isn’t a goal. And keep the wolves at bay. It’s crucial Tocchet finds his pulse on which goaltender is going well early. If the goaltending still remains a work in progress around American Thanksgiving, this season will be another turkey.
