There is a saying out there that if you have too many goalies, or you're planning a goalie committee situation, then you probably have no goalies in actuality. The Flyers are in that situation now… and this is before even a possible Carter Hart return… which I currently put at about 40% likely…and rising….
So who are these goalies?
Samuel Ersson
Sam was supposed to be Carter Hart's back-up, but has come on to become a relatively serviceable number one goalie in the NHL. Maybe somewhere between one and two. I really like Sam a lot and I think he's got potential. But at the end of the day, I think he's probably a really good backup who can step up and win you some games and become a starter if someone's hurt. He's very valuable.
Dan Vladar
The force is strong in this one….Vladar is a veteran back-up, a veteran backup with a solid two-year deal; provides depth and competition, especially useful in the short term. He is definitely a short-term fix. Should Carter Hart not return.
Ivan Fedotov
The Big Guy… his cap hit of $ 3.25 is a problem for the Flyers as far as treating him goes… he still hasn't left comfortably in his skin in the NHL, with the exception of a few games where he looked remarkably strong… very much still a project… hard not to refer him though such a good guy and been through so much to get here.
Aleksei Kolosov
The Belarusian bandit! Aleksai has skill, roz skill and there's no question he could be the best of this group… he does have some very similar qualities to Bobrovski way back when when he was a Flyer. Side by side he's the best goalie we've seen in the Philadelphia Flyers uniform in a while. Since Carter Hart. However, he goes down quickly and teams learned that, and we're waiting him out last year… he also had a weird season because he made the Flyers stick to some promises that they made to get them to come over here… it sounds like mentally he's in a better place because he is willing to go to the Phantoms and play… however you also have….
Carson Bjarnason
Promising 20-year-old, drafted in 2023 (2nd round), Carson has been a real pleasant surprise in some ways and that he's playing far better than his second-round draft position… many believe he should be the starting goalie at Lehigh, but I think it'll be a good competition between him and Kolosov. Of the five goalies we've discussed so far, Carson might have the most upf sides to become a true #1 starter in the NHL.
However, he will more likely be a back-up in the future to……
Yegor (Egor) Zavragin
Just turned 20 last week. This kid is special. He is 6’2” and played in the KHL’s last season as a 19-year-old starter… In the 2024–25 KHL season, he posted a .917 save percentage, 2.50 GAA, and four shutouts over 43 games (20 wins). He is under contract in the KHL through at least 2027… However, the Flyers have shown an uncanny ability to work out deals with a KHL to get guys out of contracts early…. He's drawn a lot of comparisons to Shesterkin, which is pretty remarkable for a guy taking in the third round… but he's tough as nails and has shown this playing at 19 in the KHL… he's a special player
The BIG Question for you…
Does Zavragin change your opinion on bringing Carter Hart back?