Dan Vladař says he’s ready to go for opening night after injury scare: ‘Thank God it was nothing too crazy’
While the Flyers have yet to confirm Vladař will start Wednesday, all signs point to the Czech netminder being in the home crease.
Darth Vladař is back.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday for the first time since leaving the Flyers’ preseason game Sept. 22 with an upper-body injury, goaltender Dan Vladař said he’s ready to go for Wednesday night’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7:30 p.m., TNT, HBO Max, and TruTV).
“Yeah, the whole training staff, especially [head athletic trainer Alex] Ambrose ... obviously did an awesome job with me, so I owe him a couple bottles of wine for sure,” the netminder joked when asked if he was ready for Wednesday.
He said his mentality will remain “stop the first shot” and that he probably could have played Saturday in the final preseason game if needed. While Rick Tocchet would not confirm Vladař as Wednesday’s starter, the expectation is that he will man the home crease when the puck drops on the 2026-27 season.
But Vladař’s availability was very much in doubt just a week ago after the Czech netminder left the Flyers’ second preseason game in Boston. He was injured when Bruins forward Tanner Jeannot crashed into his outstretched arm while pursuing a rebound. Vladař immediately dropped his stick after the contact and looked to be favoring his right shoulder or arm. At the next whistle, he skated directly to the bench, talked briefly with the Flyers’ training staff, and then exited down the tunnel in noticeable pain.
While the injury sent an immediate panic throughout Flyers Nation, Tocchet quelled fears the next day by saying that the Flyers looked to have “dodged a bullet” with their prized netminder. Vladař’ returned to practice in a full capacity Sunday and “looked good,” according to Tocchet.
“Someone is watching after me, I guess. It was close, but thank God it was nothing too crazy, so glad I can be here,” Vladař said Tuesday of the injury scare.
Having a healthy Vladař will be critical if the Flyers are to replicate or surpass last season’s run to the second round of the playoffs. In his first season in Philadelphia, he was the team’s unquestioned MVP, posting a 29-14-7 record and ranking in the top 10 in the league in goals-against average (2.42, third) and save percentage (.906, tied for eighth) among goalies to play 40 games. On the heels of his breakout season, the Flyers inked Vladař to a five-year, $27.5 million contract extension that will keep him in Philadelphia through the 2031-32 season.
Vladař isn’t concerned with the pressure of increased expectations entering the 2026-27 season.
“Obviously, you cannot really be listening to the outside noise, whether it’s good or bad. We just got to know what’s in here and focus on ourselves,” he said. “And for me, it’s focusing on me and helping my players, my buddies, [and] my teammates. ... Nothing’s changing for us in that way. We’re one year older, maybe one year wiser. So hopefully we’re going to show it on the ice.”
With the Flyers playing back-to-back games to open the season, Vladař and new backup Joseph Woll are expected to split the two games.
Following a year where the Flyers largely struggled on nights Vladař didn’t play, the team made it a priority to upgrade the backup position. In acquiring Woll from Toronto, they did just that, as Woll boasts a .906 career save percentage and quality experience as a starter.
Inquirer writer Jackie Spiegel contributed to the reporting for this article.
