Flyers' starting goalie decision has reached a confusing moment

Billy Heyen

Flyers' starting goalie decision has reached a confusing moment image

The Philadelphia Flyers don't have everything figured out yet.

They can't decide who their starting goalie is.

Samuel Ersson is the returning incumbent. But the Flyers signed Daniel Vladar in free agency.

They aren't picking just one yet.

Head coach Rick Tocchet told the Philadelphia Inquirer "that the plan is to rotate the two for a while and see who takes the lead."

Ersson is a 25-yaer old lefty from Sweden. He was a fifth-round pick by the Flyers in 2018.

Last season, Ersson started 45 games and had 22 wins. He put up an .883 save percentage and a 3.14 goals against average.

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This season, Ersson has played once, a game that went to overtime in which he saved 35-of-39 shots.

Vladar is a 28-year old lefty from the Czech Republic. He originally entered the NHL as a third-round pick of the Bruins in 2015.

Vladar spent the past four seasons with the Calgary Flames. Last season, he started 29 games, recording 12 regulation wins while putting up an .898 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average.

This season, Vladar lost his first start in tough-luck fashion, saving 32-of-34 shots on his goal.

The Flyers will have to make sense of this eventually to allow the goalie they feel is best to find a rhythm. But for now, Ersson and Vladar will have to be good at sharing.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle