Dan Vladar is closing in on a major Flyers deal, and Rick Tocchet is about to get his crease answer.
Pierre LeBrun reported Sunday that Philadelphia and Vladar are closing in on a 5-year extension worth $5.5M AAV, with the contract not yet able to become official until July 1.
That puts the full value at $27.5M, and it tells you this isn't a depth move or a short stopgap. The Flyers look ready to tie real term to the net.
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That matters because Tocchet is walking into a team that finished 43-27-12 and posted 98 points. Philadelphia didn't build that kind of season to stay unsettled in the crease.
Daniel Briere has clearly picked his lane here. A 5-year commitment says the Flyers see Vladar as part of the next phase, not just a placeholder for one season.
And the timing says plenty too. With July 1 still ahead, Philadelphia appears to be pushing to get its biggest decision at the position lined up before the market gets noisy.
Philadelphia is betting on stability in goal with Vladar signing
This is the kind of deal that changes the conversation around a roster. Once a club goes to 5 years on a goalie, the crease stops feeling open-ended and starts feeling owned.
For Tocchet, that's a clean setup. He can shape the defensive structure and bench rhythm around one long-term plan instead of patching together the position on the fly.
It also gives Briere a stronger read on the rest of the roster. When the goaltending picture is locked in, decisions on the blue line and bottom six get a lot more direct.
The number is what grabs people first, and it should. A $5.5M cap hit over 5 years is a real bet from a front office that thinks this player can hold up under pressure.
There's still paperwork and timing left before anything becomes official on July 1. But when a deal gets this close, the message is already out: the Flyers aren't dabbling here.
If this gets finished as reported, Philadelphia won't just be adding a goalie contract. The Flyers will be handing Dan Vladar one of the franchise's clearest summer votes of confidence.
Are the Flyers right to commit 5 years to Dan Vladar?
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