The simplest way to frame the Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltending misery probably goes something like this:

For the past year and a half, the club has had just one NHL-caliber option, and that player, Sam Ersson, is still young and experiencing growing pains. He hasn’t shown on a consistent enough basis that he’s ready for a No. 1’s workload.

But it’s also worth remembering how it looked before Carter Hart’s abrupt departure on Jan. 23, 2024.

Ersson was thriving with a 12-6-3 record, .909 save percentage and 2.36 goals-against average in what was still technically his rookie season. He’d settled in as a more than capable backup; he was essentially platooning with Hart at that point because of how well he was playing. He was earning more playing time.

The Flyers had a legitimate and effective tandem. Their .900 team save percentage was 14th in the NHL, and they were alone in second place in the Metropolitan Division just past the halfway point of the season.

But everyone knows what happened next: Ersson couldn’t handle increased playing time after Hart departed, the Flyers had no other viable alternatives to give him a meaningful respite, and the club foundered. Then-coach John Tortorella’s frequent assertion that if Hart had remained on the team, it would have made it into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs is supported by the evidence.

Ersson will remain on the roster at the start of the 2025-26 season. The Flyers have faith in the 25-year-old — probably even more now after his standout performance at the World Championships for Team Sweden — but they also recognized at the end of last season they better get him some help if they’re going to improve.

That help is Dan Vladar. The 27-year-old signed a two-year, $6.7 million contract with the Flyers on July 1 and spoke with local media for the first time Friday via video conference. He echoed general manager Daniel Briere’s comments immediately after the signing, that the opportunity for him to grow his career with the Flyers was the main motivator.

“Since the first time I heard about the organization, that they had some interest in me, I really wanted to come,” Vladar said. “I’m happy it worked out, and I can’t wait to be going there.”

He continued: “That’s another reason why I wasn’t satisfied with my role in Calgary: I want to keep moving forward. I just felt like Philly is the best spot for me going forward. I’m 100 percent confident I have a lot more in me.”

The biggest question with Vladar is whether he’s able to play more than he has historically. He has never started more than 29 games in a season — which he did last season, when he went 12-11-6 with a 2.80 goals-against average and .898 save percentage with Calgary as the No. 2 to Dustin Wolf, who ended up in second place in Calder Trophy voting.

And while he was still firmly the No. 2 goalie in the second half of the Flames’ season, after the 4 Nations break, Vladar found a groove. He closed out with a 5-1-1 record, .926 save percentage and 1.99 goals-against average in his final eight appearances.

After a hip injury that required surgery ended his 2023-24 season prematurely in March of that year, he felt he was in a good place physically at the end of this past season.

“As the year went on and it got longer, I just started to feel a little bit better with my strength,” he said.

The door will be open for Vladar to play 40-plus games this coming season if he can handle it, something he surely realized when he inked his new deal. Briere mentioned that he’s informed all of the team’s goalies — including the now No. 3, Ivan Fedotov — that playing time will be earned. There won’t be any de facto No. 1 when training camp begins in September (although Briere did strongly suggest that it will be Ersson and Vladar as the tandem on opening night).

“My message to them is it doesn’t matter where you slot in right now. Come in and be ready,” Briere said on July 1. “When it’s your turn, you’ve got to perform. I hope we can create an environment that every single night they’re battling for their spot. We’re going to need at least three goalies. Maybe more. We know that, and Vladar helps put us in a better position.”

While Vladar is clearly an upgrade over the Flyers’ two backups last season, Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov, his presence is designed to boost Ersson, too. After all, Ersson seemed to be on a solid path before the chaos of the Hart situation.

“Sam is also a goalie that needs to be fresh,” Briere said. “He’s at his best when he’s fresh. Worked really well when he was a tandem with Carter Hart. (If) we can get him that (way) again, that would be great.”

Ersson has always seemed like a level-headed guy, and his ability to self-assess was something that Tortorella frequently mentioned among Ersson’s best attributes.

Both he and Vladar would seem to view the goalie position from a similar perspective: they want to play as much as possible, of course, but they know they’re going to have to lean on their counterpart, too.

“(In) a long year, both (goalies are) going to have their ups and downs. I think you’re trying to maximize both,” Ersson said at the end of last season. “When the goalie is hot, you’re trying to ride that goalie a little bit more, and I think sometimes in tough stretches … you’re going to rely on each other to help each other out and win some games when the team needs it. If one guy is struggling a little bit, you need the other guy to step up a little bit more.”

That didn’t happen last season. When Ersson struggled, the Flyers were cooked, considering who was behind him.

Vladar should help, particularly if he can build off of his 2024-25 late-season success. And he seems to have the same mindset as Ersson in that Flyers’ goaltending will be more of a partnership than anything.

“I can’t wait to be working with Sam,” he said. “If he’s going to feel like I can maybe step up and tell him something, I will do it for sure. The thing I want from him is the same thing: if he’s going to see something to help me out, as well. That’s how I think it should be working.”

Vladar continued: “Obviously, I’m going there to play as many games as I can, but I’m there for team success. Whoever is hotter at the time should be playing. That’s my view.”

(Photo: Rich Gagnon / Getty Images)