Flyers extend goaltender Dan Vladar, 28, with five-year deal

Dan Vladar has signed a five-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Flyers worth $5.5 million annually, the team announced on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old Vladar, who was heading into the final year of his contract, had a breakout season after he went from being in a tandem with the Calgary Flames to emerging as a No. 1 option with the Flyers.

Vladar had his strongest individual campaign to date after finishing the regular season 29-14-7 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

Those performances made him one of the most important players in the Flyers' push to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Vladar's regular-season exploits continued into the playoffs where he helped the Flyers beat their cross-state rival, Pittsburgh Penguins, for their first playoff series victory since 2020.

Despite only having two games of postseason experience before last season, Vladar went 4-6 with a 2.19 GAA and a .922 save percentage before the Flyers were eliminated in the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

Getting a deal done for Vladar, who still had a year left on his contract at $3.35 million annually, now means the Flyers can continue to strengthen their team elsewhere.

Defenseman Jamie Drysdale and forward Trevor Zegras are the Flyers most notable restricted free agents with PuckPedia projecting they have $32.681 million in cap space.