Dan Vladař has been the Flyers’ MVP all season long. He’s also far from your typical goalie.
“I’ve never played with a goalie that’s been that vocal, both on the ice, off the ice," said Owen Tippett of the "really positive" Vladař. So much for the stigma that goalies keep to themselves.
Midway through the third period of what would become Dan Vladař’s first career playoff shutout, the Flyers were caving in.
They still led by 2-0 after the second period, but the vaunted Pittsburgh offense was jumping, heavily outshooting the Flyers and finally getting into its cycle offense.
“They were pressing us,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “For about three or four minutes, [before] we got to the timeout. They were coming in waves at us.”
The man speaking up the most at the bench? Vladař.
» READ MORE: Dan Vladař, Flyers take commanding 2-0 series lead behind their first shutout of the season
A lot of goalies prefer to stay by their net to keep focused during the timeouts. Many goalies — a notoriously superstitious and internally focused position — don’t even like to talk to teammates in the locker room on the days they start a game. But that’s not Vladař.
“He said, ‘We’re OK,’” Tocchet said. “’Guys, don’t worry about it. Relax.’ He says that, he’s the goalie, he’s getting peppered. It means a lot. Now, guys are like, ‘I’ve got to pick my game up. I’ve got to block a shot for this guy.’”
Monday’s Game 2 was just the latest example of Vladař speaking up and lifting the room, something that Tocchet said a lot of the Flyers haven’t seen from a goalie before.
“I’ve never played with a goalie that’s been that vocal, both on the ice, off the ice. In TV timeouts, he’s always coming by and keeping us going,” winger Owen Tippett said.
Multiple teammates couldn’t even point to a specific moment when Vladař rallied the team because of how frequently it has happened over the course of the season.
There’s a lot of belief in the Flyers’ locker room, and Vladař lives it, Jamie Drysdale said. His usual lines are pretty simple, and go something like “Boys, believe in here. We’ve fricking got this. We can do it.” That positive approach has worked wonders so far.
“[Goalies] have a lot to focus on in their own right,” Drysdale said. “Definitely a stressful position. They’re the only goalies on the ice, but the fact that he focuses on that, keeps himself locked in, as well as being a leader in the room, it’s real cool to see.”
As his goalie partner, Sam Ersson sees more of Vladař, 28, than anyone else on the team. He’s a bit more reserved compared to Vladař, but the two of them have worked extremely well together, working to build each other up and to talk through goals and starts.
Even during games, Vladař loves to talk — mostly about hockey, Ersson said. But sometimes he just “needs to get something out.”
“He’s just a really positive guy,” Ersson said. “He comes in with a ton of energy every day.”
Vladař, the “backbone” of the Flyers’ unlikely run to the playoffs, said he’s always been a goalie who likes to be vocal, but he’s never felt as comfortable with a team as he has with the Flyers. His energy has “rubbed off on everyone,” Drysdale said.
As Vladař has gone from third string in Boston to a 1B goalie in Calgary to his first playoff series as a starter with the Flyers, he has developed the confidence and the experience to be a vocal leader.
When he signed a two-year,$6.7 million contract in Philadelphia on July 1, he said he was shocked to receive 15 text messages from future Flyers teammates welcoming him to Philly. “That’s not very common, right? But the little things show,” Vladař said.
“Since day one, I felt like I can be myself,” he added. “Whether it was on the ice or off the ice, I just felt really good here. Obviously, when you’re feeling good and you’re excited to be coming to work, whether there’s ups or downs, you’re still enjoying it.”
Vladař’s comfort level off the ice led to career-best numbers, with the netminder posting a .906 save percentage and 2.42 goals against mark in 52 games (51 starts), which was 22 more than he’d ever played in a season. Among goalies with 30 starts, Vladař ranked third in goals against average, tied for 12th in save percentage, and was second in quality start percentage (.725), which Hockey Reference measures as the percentage of games that a goalie starts when he finished with a save percentage above the league average (.896). He was also 10th among goalies in goals saved above expected (13.8), according to Money Puck.
The Flyers’ goaltenders put up a league-worst .879 save percentage and fifth-worst 3.45 goals-against average in 2024-25, sinking any hopes of a playoff push. Vladař, originally signed to be a tandem goalie, has filled the No. 1 void the Flyers had in net over the previous two seasons.
» READ MORE: The inexperienced Flyers stole the Penguins’ will in their Game 2 victory. Now, the series shifts to Philly.
The Czech netminder’s breakout is leading to a bit of awards talk, even from hockey’s greatest player ever. Before the playoffs, TNT analyst Wayne Gretzky included him as one of his finalists for the Vezina Trophy, which is given to the league’s best goalie, and as an honorable mention for the Hart Trophy, or league MVP. Vladař’ brushed off the award mentions, saying his main focus was on the playoffs. He made 15 saves on 17 shots in a Game 1 win and shut out the Penguins on 27 shots in Game 2.
But he certainly has been one of the MVPs on the Flyers, both on the ice and in the locker room.
“I hope he knows the amount of respect that we have for him in this room,” Garnet Hathaway said. “We see how hard he works. We know the journey he’s been on, and we know when he opens his mouth, it’s for the team completely and entirely to help us be better as a group.”
