When goaltender Dan Vladar approached unrestricted free agency this summer, the Philadelphia Flyers were one of the teams that intrigued the 6-foot-5 Czech netminder the most.
The former Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames player knew the Flyers were looking for competition in goal. There is playing time available to whomever steps up and performs.
"When I found out (the Flyers) had interest, I really wanted to come. I am happy about it and can't wait to come there," Vladar said in a Friday morning Zoom press conference with reporters.
It remains to be seen whether that's in a roughly 50-50 assignment split ("1A and 1B") with incumbent Samuel Ersson, more well-defined starter and backup roles or a multiplayer competition to dress for games.
Ersson is a lock for the team as long as he stays healthy. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov are also in the current roster mix. Vladar signed a two-year contract with the Flyers on July 1st, carrying a $3.35 million average annual value.
Beyond that, nothing is certain during the offseason. That's fine by the 27-year-old Vladar.
Vladar maintains that all he wants is the opportunity to earn significant playing time. That wasn't going to happen in Calgary, where Calder Trophy finalist Dustin Wolf became the undisputed No. 1 goaltender in 2024-25.
"Whether it's going to be over 30 (games played) or under 30, it all depends. How am I going to be playing? How is Sam going to be playing? I'll just do my best, as I always did," Vladar said.
He continued, "I think the way it should be is whoever's gonna play the best should be playing. Obviously, I'm going there to play as many games as I can, but I'm there for team success, so whoever's gonna be hotter at that time should be playing."
Dan Vladar had a somewhat frustrating 2024-25 season for Calgary. He entered the campaign coming off season-ending hip surgery the previous year. It took more than half the season for the Czech goalie to find a groove. Meanwhile, Wolf excelled and went from splitting time with Vladar to becoming the primary starter.
However, by the time the Four Nations Face-Off break rolled around -- Czechia was not a participant -- Vladar felt much more like himself. When he returned to action in Calgary, Vladar finished the season by playing the best hockey of his NHL career to date.
From March 1 to the end of the season, Vladar posted a 2.14 goals against average and .920 save percentage in 393 minutes of game action. He won each of his final four starts, with three coming in must-win situations. Wolf played 1080 minutes (2.72 GAA, .904 save percentage) during the stretch drive.
"Coming off surgery, I felt better as the season went on and was a huge part of why I was playing better hockey. It was a learning experience too, because it helped me to play my best hockey and that's what I want to do here from day one," he said.
The Flames surprised critics by posting 96 points and posting a 7-1-2 record over their final 10 games. The late surge wasn't quite enough. Calgary lost out on the final playoff spot in the Western Conference via tiebreaker with the St. Louis Blues.
Overall, Vladar played in 30 games last season (29 starts, one relief appearance). He finished with a 12-11-6 record, 2.80 goals against average, .898 save percentage and two shutouts. The player's hot spell down the stretch helped the Flames stay in the playoff hunt until the penultimate game of the regular season.
Vladar was happy for Wolf's rookie success and enjoyed the close-knit chemistry in the Flames' locker room. Nevertheless, he felt it was time to move on with his own career.
"I wasn't satisfied with my role in Calgary, and I want to keep moving forward. I just felt like Philly is the best path for me going forward. I'm 100 percent confident that I have a lot more in me," Vladar said.
Vladar, of course, wants to earn as much playing time as possible. Nevertheless, he realizes that goaltending teammates have to be as supportive as possible of one another. Winning is the ultimate goal for any team. Vladar pledged to do his part on a day-in and day-out basis.
Before the Flyers finalized the two-year contract with Vladar on July 1, general manager Daniel Briere did some homework on the player. He found that Vladar has put together some excellent runs when healthy -- for example a stretch of back-to-back shutout and a .968 overall save percentage in November 2021. Unfortunately, he's had some injuries or prolonged inactive spells that interrupted his rhythm.
Just as important, Vladar had done his own homework on the Flyers. He spoke with fellow Czech players who'd played with the team. They were unanimous in their praise for the organization and life in the community. The strongest influence, according to Vladar himself, was longtime Flyers forward Jakub Voracek.
"When I heard that Philadelphia was one of the teams interested, I called some of my Czech buddies like Jake Voracek, Radko Gudas, Michal Neuvirth, and Jaromir Jagr," Vladar said.
"When Jake was still playing, I used to work out with him. We had a pretty close relationship. He was literally the first guy I talked to about Philly. He obviously told me all the best things about the city. Neuvy has really good years there as well, so I asked him about Dilly (Flyers goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh). So all the Czech guys loved their time there in the city and that was a big reason why I wanted to come."
Vladar is a big, athletic goalie with good skating ability for such a large-framed athlete. When he's on his angles, his size allows him to cover a lot of the net. A rhythm netminder, one can usually tell fairly quickly if Vladar is at the top of his game. His puck-tracking, five-hole closure and rebound control are often the big tells. However, as needed, Vladar battles for recoveries and secondary saves.
