The Flyers need a goalie. Here are four paths they could take to address the sore position

Stop me if you’ve read this before: The Flyers need a goalie.

As has largely been the case since the turn of the millennium — minus some brief high points from Roman Čechmánek, Steve Mason, and Carter Hart — the Flyers have had major uncertainty in goal. Sure, landing a top-two center remains a priority, but that won’t matter one bit if the Flyers don’t solve their longstanding riddle between the pipes.

Don’t believe me? Two seasons ago, the Flyers missed the postseason by just four points despite a late eight-game losing streak, losing Hart midseason after he was charged with sexual assault, and the league’s second-worst save percentage (.889). The problems were even more plain to see this past season, as Sam Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov combined for a league-worst .879 save percentage, or eight percentage points worse than basement-team San Jose’s revolving door in net.

» READ MORE: The Flyers have a major goalie problem (again) and there’s no ready-made fix out there in free agency

While I’m not ready to give up on 25-year-old Ersson, who has shown for extended stretches over the last two seasons that he’s at least capable of being part of a serviceable NHL tandem, the Flyers, at minimum, need to find him a steadier partner than Fedotov or Kolosov, both of whom regularly looked out of their depth at the NHL level.

Ersson, Fedotov, and Kolosov are under contract for next season, but with every passing press conference, the Flyers sound more and more tired of rebuilding and ready to start operating like a team that wants to contend for the playoffs next season. Running it back with the same trio almost surely would mean a raffle ticket for the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes.

So, who can the Flyers realistically add to address their goaltending woes? In a bad year to need a goalie, here are four ways the Orange and Black could look to upgrade the sport’s most important position.

Thatcher Demko and John Gibson are the two bona fide No. 1 goalies — when healthy available in the trade market. The key words there are when healthy, as Demko and Gibson’s injury travails have been well documented.

Let’s start with Gibson, who turns 32 in July and, after four years of rumors, finally seems likely leave Anaheim. Gibson is far from his 2015 to 2019 peak (.922 save percentage), but he still posted a .912 save percentage in 29 games last season. He also ranked 13th in the NHL in goals saved above expected (15.3), according to analytics site Money\Puck. While health concerns plagued him last season, he averaged 45 starts over the last four seasons and posted a .900 save percentage during that span on some bad Ducks teams.

In a weak goalie market, Gibson, who has two years remaining on his current deal at a $6.4 million cap hit, as well as a 10-team no-trade list, is expected to have several suitors. The Flyers have done recent business with Anaheim, and it is worth mentioning that Gibson hails from Pittsburgh.

Demko, who is one year removed from being runner-up for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie, is younger, at 29, and already has an established relationship with new Flyers coach Rick Tocchet from their time together in Vancouver. But any Flyers interest in Demko would hinge on his medicals.

The California native missed much of the 2024 playoffs and the first 24 games of last season with a knee injury that has been described as “rare” for goalies. He entered last season with a .912 career save percentage but never looked like himself in 2024-25 and posted his first sub-.900 save percentage of his career (.889) in 23 games while dealing with several injuries (knee, groin, back spasms). There’s genuine concern that he will never get back to his elite level, especially given the nature of and lack of transparency about his knee injury.

» READ MORE: The Flyers let Sergei Bobrovsky get away. That mistake should teach them a valuable lesson.

That said, Demko could be available with Kevin Lankinen signing a five-year extension with the Canucks last season. Demko also wouldn’t cost the farm, considering the injury red flags and the fact that he has just one more year remaining at a $5 million cap hit. The risk wouldn’t be astronomical for a team desperate to upgrade in goal, and if the netminder’s injuries truly are behind him, Demko could be a longer-term solution for the Flyers.

While the less splashy approach, last year was the year of the goaltending reclamation project. Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper, Anthony Stolarz, and Mackenzie Blackwood finished in the top 10 in save percentage after changing teams during the summer or early in the season (Blackwood). Even Lankinen proved to be a bargain buy after signing for less than $900,000.

This class might not have that type of potential, but there are a few guys out there looking for a change of scenery. Columbus’ Elvis Merzļikins is available, but his numbers were downright ghastly over the last three seasons (.890 save percentage), not to mention he has two more years on his deal at $5.4 million per. He’d almost certainly be a nonstarter for the Flyers, unless Columbus was willing to retain significant salary. The 31-year-old would be a tandem option at best, but some team will hold out hope that he just needs a fresh start.

Ilya Samsonov probably is the best reclamation target among the unrestricted free agents because of his age (28), NHL track record (.902 career save percentage), and pedigree as a former top prospect. The inconsistent Samsonov, who went 16-9-4 with a .891 save percentage last season in Vegas, would come relatively cheap and would represent an upgrade over Fedotov and Kolosov.

Cayden Primeau, the son of former Flyers captain Keith Primeau, would also be another inexpensive option. Montreal has a logjam coming in the crease with Sam Montembeault (is he available?), Primeau, and rising prospects Jakub Dobeš and Jacob Fowler. Montreal probably wants to hold onto Montembeault, at least for now, meaning that Primeau, a restricted free agent, likely would be the odd man out.

Primeau, who will be 26 at the start of next season, had a decorated NCAA career at Northeastern and has excelled in the American Hockey League. Last season with Laval, he posted a 1.96 goals against average and .927 save percentage and has career numbers of 2.60 and .921 at that level. That hasn’t yet translated to the NHL, where Primeau has struggled in 55 career games (.884 save percentage). He would come cheap, whether in a trade, a potential offer sheet ($1 million to 1.5 million and no draft pick compensation), or him becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

While I highly doubt Boston’s Jeremy Swayman is available, as some have speculated, what about Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen? Given the overall lack of direction and level of dysfunction within the Sabres organization, “UPL” could be on the move one year after signing a five-year, $23.75 million contract extension ($4.75 million average annual value).

The 26-year-old is coming off a down season with the Sabres (.887 save percentage), but he played behind one of the league’s worst defenses and is only a year removed from a .910 season. The Sabres also have Devon Levi, a restricted free agent, in the pipeline. The last time Buffalo gave up on a youngish goalie like Luukkonen too soon? It turned out pretty good for Boston, as Linus Ullmark posted three-straight elite seasons and won a Vezina Trophy in 2023.

Usually trading with the Sabres is a recipe for success, and I’d be all over trying to acquire the 6-foot-5 Finn if he’s on the block.

» READ MORE: Breaking down the Flyers’ free agents, available cap space, and draft picks this summer

Maybe the most likely scenario, the Flyers could opt to find a veteran stopgap to pair with Ersson, which would buy them another year while promising prospects Carson Bjarnason (Lehigh Valley, AHL) and Egor Zavragin (SKA St. Petersburg, Kontinental Hockey League) continue to develop.

For me, Jake Allen is far and away the best of the unrestricted free agent bunch. Allen, who turns 35 this summer, has made a career of being a steady tandem goalie and posted a .908 save percentage last season with New Jersey. His advanced metrics were even better, as he ranked ninth in the league with 18.4 goals saved above expected.

Evolving Hockey projects Allen’s next contract to carry a $2.5 million average annual value, while a chance for close to a 50-50 split might appeal to the veteran. Allen also has been durable, which is a huge plus, considering Ersson’s groin problems the last few years.

Other options in this unrestricted free agent tier include Ottawa’s Anton Forsberg, who will be familiar to Ersson as a fellow Swede, Calgary’s Dan Vladar, Los Angeles’ David Rittich, well-traveled Vítek Vaněček, and former Flyer Alex Lyon. If the Flyers can’t get Allen, the 32-year-old Lyon might be the next best tandem option after a couple of solid seasons in Florida and Detroit.

Anaheim’s Lukáš Dostál is the top restricted free agent available, but he’s likely staying put and would have been too expensive, draft compensation-wise, anyway.

That leaves the 6-5 Joel Hofer, who formed a really strong partnership with Jordan Binnington over the last two seasons in St. Louis. Hofer, who turns 25 in July, is in the perfect age range for the Flyers and has proven to be an above-average tandem goalie. But is there more on the bone?

» READ MORE: 10 restricted free agents the Flyers could target with an offer sheet

The Manitoban went 16-8-3 last season with a .904 save percentage and has a .907 mark over 69 career games (63 starts). Evolving Hockey projects Hofer’s next average annual value to come in at just over $3 million, and an offer sheet between $2.34 million and $4.68 million would cost the Flyers only a second-round pick as compensation. A Hofer-Ersson pairing would solidify the Flyers’ crease in the short term, and, given both players’ upside, maybe one of them even blossoms into a No. 1.