Photo Courtesy of Buffalo Hockey
Chuck Fletcher has greatly improved the Flyers with his recent acquisitions, acquiring veteran presence in Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Keith Yandle, and Cam Atkinson.
One hole that is still in need of filling is a backup goalie. It seems the Flyers will part ways with UFA G Brian Elliott after multiple seasons. With the Flyers acquiring a ton of veteran presence up front and on the backend, they should look to sign a veteran netminder to guide Carter Hart.
One option that would be perfect is recently bought out Braden Holtby, from the Vancouver Canucks.
It’s clear Holtby and the Canucks did not work out, with the Canucks finishing last in their division last season. Holtby posted a 7-11-3 record with the team, a 3.67 GAA and a .889 save percentage. The Canucks were looking to possibly trade him, but with Holtby having a cap hit of $4.3 million, no teams were willing to make the move.
Signing the 2018 Stanley Cup champion would be a great move for the Flyers. He would be a good veteran presence behind Hart, as well as in the locker room. He could go for a cheap deal around or below $2 million.
Carolina Hurricanes Jonathan Bernier is another option that would work well behind Hart. The 32 year-old netminder was recently traded to the Hurricanes from the Red Wings. He spent the past three seasons in Detroit, posting 33 wins and 51 losses. He was also a 2012 Stanley Cup champion when playing with the Los Angeles Kings.
Bernier has played 364 career NHL games, with 161 wins, 159 losses, a 2.77 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
Buffalo Sabres UFA goalie Linus Ullmark is another very solid option for the Flyers backup goalie position.
The 27 year-old netminder has played with the Sabres since the 2015/16 season and has since served as a serviceable role on the team. He has played in 117 NHL games, posting a record of 50 wins and 47 losses, a 2.79 GAA, and a .912 save percentage.
Ullmark would be a cheap option for the Flyers.
Honorable Mentions: Antti Raanta, Martin Jones, Aaron Dell, Frederick Anderson.Â
Current Goalies in the System: Felix Sandström, Kirill Ustimenko, Samuel Ersson
Unsigned Goalies in the System: Matej Tomek, Ivan Fedotov, Alexei Kolosov.
*Stat photos courtesy of JFresh Hockey on twitter*.
First Choice Linus Ullmark big athletic goalie and maybe a Friend of Rasmus Ristolainen??