Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the Philadelphia Flyers have a goaltending problem.
Coming into the season, it was assumed that incumbent starter Sam Ersson and newcomer Dan Vladar would compete for starts in a tandem situation. Given that Ersson has been with the Flyers for the last few years, it wasn’t a stretch to think that he would get the opening night start and have the lead in the tandem.
But that hasn’t been the case.
Vladar won the starting job out of training camp and hasn’t let go. Through 18 games, Vladar has started 11, with Ersson getting six and Aleksei Kolosov being called upon for one. That’s quite the start share for the veteran, and Ersson has left much to be desired during his time in the crease.
His numbers came down quite a bit after the Stars lit him up for five goals on Saturday night, but Vladar still has a solid .909 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average. On the other hand, Ersson has struggled with an .844 SV% and 3.30 GAA.
A lot of the talk around Ersson during and after his starts is that he looks better than the numbers show. And while that may be true on some nights, we don’t have to rely on the eye test while pointing to the low number of shots that he faced. Instead, we can look at some of the advanced stats like goals saved above expected (GSAX), where Vladar and Ersson have been polar opposites.
According to MoneyPuck, Ersson has the sixth-worst GSAX in the league at -4.6, while Vladar ranks 15th at 6.1. When factoring in how much they have played, Ersson drops down to the fourth-lowest GSAX/60 at -0.72, with Vladar at 24 due to some goalies who haven’t played as much.
Unfortunately, this isn’t anything new for Ersson.
Last season, Ersson was dead last with -19.9 GSAX, allowing nearly 20 more goals than expected. Vladar, while playing in a backup role and getting the harder starts due to the Flames insulating Dustin Wolf, had a solid 0.9 GSAX, good for 44th overall. That’s all you can really ask out of your goalie, to save the goals that are expected. Anything else is gravy — at least in Philadelphia.
Even going back two seasons, Ersson had a -4.8 GSAX, which was at least better than three other Flyers netminders, but still ranked 24th worst in the league.
The Swedish netminder might simply be showing us what he is. He’s 26 years old now, and some goalies don’t hit their peak until their late-20s, but it could be getting late early in Philadelphia for Ersson.
While Ersson certainly isn’t at the level of a starting goalie, he may be able to hold his own as a backup. He typically performs better when he’s a bit rested, but the Flyers don’t really have the luxury of playing him as a true backup.
Goaltending tandems are the present and future in the NHL. Vladar was brought in to compete for the starter’s job, and he’s won it, but asking him to start more than 40 games might be a bit much.
Last season was the first time that Vladar cracked 30 NHL games in a season, starting 29 and coming in relief once. Prior to that, he started 19, 23, and 19 games in his first three years in Calgary.
Even when you factor in playoff starts and combine leagues, Vladar hasn’t played in more than 30 games in a season since seeing 32 total games with the Providence Bruins in the 2018-19 season. Asking him to go from 30 games to 40 or even 45 or 50 might see him revert to the .895 SV% goalie that he was entering this season — and that would still be better than Ersson’s career .886 SV%!
Ersson was tasked with bridging the gap for the Flyers over the last few seasons while the team was in the early stages of the rebuild. But if they’re ready to take the next step, they might need to look for outside help in net.
Trading for a goalie certainly wasn’t on Danny Briere’s to-do list entering the season. Ersson and Vladar can split starts, and Kolosov is capable enough of coming up to be the backup or for a spot start here and there.
But what if the Flyers are still in the playoffs when the calendar flips to 2026? Or at the Olympic break? Or what if Ersson’s injuries crop up again on top of that?
Despite not really having great options in net, the Flyers do have their four goalies set at the NHL and AHL level. Kolosov and Carson Bjarnasson are splitting time for the Phantoms, and there’s no need to add a third goalie into the mix.
The only situation we could see where the Flyers trade for a goalie is if they’re in playoff contention in the weeks or months leading up to the deadline and
Ersson gets hurt. Trading for a veteran goalie to join Vladar’s tandem likely wouldn’t cost that much and would keep the Flyers in the hunt.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ 33-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night wasn’t officially over until the final whistle, but it didn’t take long to see where it was headed. Las Vegas folded early and eventually dropped its eighth game of the season (and wasted another great effort from Maxx Crosby in the process).
Crosby briefly offered hope, forcing Dak Prescott to fumble and giving the Raiders the ball at the Dallas 15-yard line in a scoreless game. But the offense immediately stalled. After a sack on first down, quarterback Geno Smith missed Tre Tucker in the end zone, and Las Vegas settled for a field goal—an ominous preview of what the night would become.
If the Raiders can’t capitalize on momentum created by Crosby, the heart and soul of the team, what real chance do they have?
Crosby delivered a gift. The Raiders couldn’t cash it in. His relentless play continues to carry the defense, yet both units around him offer little support. Late in the first half, when Cowboys receiver George Pickens broke free for a score, Maxx Crosby was double-teamed—as he often is—and no one else generated pressure. The secondary’s breakdown gave Pickens a free path to the end zone.
Crosby’s production should make life easier for the rest of the defensive front. The organization tried to bolster that group by drafting Tyree Wilson two years ago, but that investment has yet to pay off. Malcolm Koonce once looked poised to take a leap, but a past injury seems to have halted his progress.
The failure to surround Crosby with legitimate help has spanned multiple Raiders regimes. Current general manager John Spytek spent draft capital on defensive linemen, including fourth-rounder Tonka Hemingway. He’s usually inactive; on Monday, he recovered Crosby’s forced fumble but recorded no other stats.
The run game, nonexistent for most of the season, was abandoned entirely. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly called just three rushing plays in the first half and only eight total for 13 yards. Pete Carroll said afterward he wanted more play-action, and while it worked in flashes, the imbalance proved costly.
Predictably, Smith spent much of the night under pressure. The offensive line, already thin due to injuries, has been ineffective all season—in both pass protection and run blocking. Injuries don’t explain a unit that has consistently failed to keep the offense afloat.
And so the burden returns to Maxx Crosby, who continues to play at an elite level for a team with no clear direction. If he had meaningful help on either side of the ball, this season might look different. Instead, hope feels distant in Las Vegas. The question now is whether this new regime can finally build a competent roster around its lone star—or whether Crosby will want to endure yet another rebuild.