Vladar making most of chance as No. 1 goalie with Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- Dan Vladar knew something had to change when he hit free agency last season.

The seeds of those changes he planted during the offseason have blossomed both for the 28-year goalie and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vladar, who signed a two-year, $6.7 million contract ($3.35 million average annual value) on July 1, has seized the No. 1 job in Philadelphia and is having his best NHL season, having already set NHL career bests in wins (20), games played (39) and starts (38).

"I had a real talk with my goalie coach back home (during the offseason), and he put his time in, he watched a lot of video of me, and we were just trying to come together with some sort of plan," Vladar said. "Looks like, so far, it's been working out."

Less than two years after he had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right hip, Vladar enters Philadelphia’s game against the Washington Capitals at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, MNMT, truTV, TNT) with the eighth-best goals-against average in the League among goalies to play at least 30 games (2.52), and his .903 save percentage is 13th.

"Obviously I feel better than I felt three, four years ago, and obviously with the health and stuff like that," Vladar said. "At the same time, it's a tough league, so don't want to take anything for granted and still want to keep working on my game. Because it's not just about the results; the results can be either good or bad, but it's more about that feel you have to process, and the feel you have about your game. Because you look around the League, and I know some guys are really good goalies, but they are just not having great years. But it doesn't mean that they are playing bad; it can be anything, bad bounces, or teams are not playing well for them. Can be anything.

“So, looking at stats and stuff like that, it's great. But at the same time, [it] doesn't tell you much."

In Vladar's case, the stats only tell part of the story. To get the full version, you'd have to go back to an offseason discussion he had with his personal goalie coach, Radek Jiratko.

Vladar played four seasons with the Calgary Flames, but with Dustin Wolf emerging as their No. 1, he knew he'd be looking for a new NHL home as a free agent.

The Flyers were an enticing option. Their three-goalie rotation of Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov combined for an .890 5-on-5 save percentage, the lowest for any team since the stat started being tracked in 2009-10.

But to claim a No. 1 job, Vladar knew there were things about his game he had to change. That led to him adjust his approach, emphasizing staying on his feet longer to increase his mobility and better use his 6-foot-5, 209-pound frame to more of an advantage.

"Just watching the big guys around the League, I think that I don't have to play as aggressive," he said. "So, I've been working on my post play, side to side, eyes first, and keeping my feet underneath me so that I know I can move better laterally.

“And obviously I got a little bit stronger over the summer, so I think that's been helping me a lot."

After signing with the Flyers, goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh spent time with Vladar and Jiratko in Prague and felt positive about what he was seeing.

"Typically when you're staying on your feet longer, you're a little bit more patient, so you're reading things a little bit better," Dillabaugh said. "So, I think there's a connection there. That's been an enhancement that he's worked to improve in his game. The game is so fast and so quick, pucks are moving laterally now more than they ever have been. You need to make sure you know you're not locked in. 

"The speed of the game, it's so fast. You see more players jumping in the rush, so you've got more layers to rush attacks. You've got more skill so you're seeing pucks move more east/west, sometimes east/west and then back west/east, so the mobility side becomes that much more important based on how teams are looking to generate offense."

That enhanced mobility has led to better results, and Vladar claiming a starting role for the first time in his six NHL seasons.

And he’s has earned it; Vladar has allowed two goals or fewer in 25 starts, second in the NHL behind Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Logan Thompson of the Washington Capitals with 26. His .925 5-on-5 save percentage is tied with Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders for fifth in the NHL, and in 65.8 percent of his starts (25 of 37), he's had at least a .900 save percentage, sixth in the League among goalies to start at least 25 games. 

Vladar also has taken a leadership role.

"He doesn't have a letter on his jersey, but he could," Philadelphia coach Rick Tocchet said. "He does have one for me in my head."

Several players praised Vladar for his constant positivity, which has helped the Flyers remain on the fringes of a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Philadelphia (29-23-11) has points in seven of its past 10 games (5-3-2) and is seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

"In between TV timeouts ... he's coming to the bench, hyping us up, yelling at us, doing whatever, and yelling at us in the best way possible," defenseman Jamie Drysdale said. "He's awesome, so positive, and the way he plays speaks for itself."

Now it's a matter of staying at that high level as Vladar handles the increased workload. But he's confident the offseason changes will continue to bear fruit.

"You never know unless you actually start playing," he said. "I felt confident that I had a great summer in my eyes. ... And then I was just confident I put myself in the best position to succeed. 

"A lot of goalies are growing or reaching their primes later on in their careers, so there might be something of it. Because obviously I feel better than I felt three, four years ago."