The Flyers’ longer term goaltending situation is getting complicated. With reports coming down that an extension for Dan Vladar is effectively already in place, it’s clear that the Flyers feel that they really have something in their new starting netminder, but beyond that, the situation is less certain. The backup role is not quite settled, and the Flyers have a couple of prospects in Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason who are still chipping away at it in the AHL, but don’t look nearly ready to grab that NHL job on a full-time basis, and now with the news coming out that top goalie prospect Yegor Zavragin might just be extending his stay over in the KHL, the Flyers are going to have to recalibrate their plans for shoring up that position.
The market for a backup, as it stands, does not inspire a whole lot of confidence, and while the Flyers could certainly go shopping for another reclamation project — as they’ve shown a decided willingness to do up to this point — we have to wonder if they might also consider standing pat, and betting that they can build on a strong late season performance from their in-house option, pending RFA Sam Ersson.
I discussed the idea of giving Ersson for one more season with this organization with Steve Jacot and Jacob Russell on this week’s Flyperbole.
Maddie Campbell: The thing I’m sort of like rattling around at the back of my head too is like, as much as Steve you’re emphasizing, “do not bring back Sam Ersson,” do they do it on a one-year deal? Like what’s the market looking like? Do they feel like he was so good the last, you know, stretch of the season, we can eat another year and walk him to unrestricted free agency, and like hope that after that one of the the kids is ready to come up? I don’t feel great about that, but I’m asking the questions.
Jacob Russell: I don’t feel great about it. But you do look at it and you go if you squint and you’re like, “Well, if Sam gives us like an .892, Sam gives us an 892 in 15 games.” And then and then we get Vadar out there for 45 and then and then maybe, you know, we get some Kolosov games in there, maybe he gets four starts here or there because somehow he just manages to get four starts. Um, you know, you can re-sign a guy like Ivan Fedotov if that interests you, Steve.
Steve Jacot: Jesus, God.
Jacob: He’s going to be available.
Steve: He will be available. There’s good reason he’ll be available. If he’s not on the first plane back to Russia, then what’s he even bothering with?
We spend some time going through the options, but come see how we get to this point, with some grumbling:
Steve: Yeah, dude. It’s absolutely crazy. But yeah, that’s, I mean, that’s the thing about the repercussion of the Zavragin thing is you were hoping he could step in sooner. Kolosov, I think we’re all feeling pretty confident he’s not the guy. God damn it. I think you’ve talked me into Sam Ersson coming [back].
You can listen to our full discussion on this week’s episode of Flyperbole. Come for the goalie talk, stay for the cryptid lore.
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