Dan Vladar had never been on the open market before, and didn't know what to expect.
But when he heard the Flyers had interest, the goaltender knew exactly who to talk to before signing a two-year, $6.7 million free-agent deal.
Vladar, a native of the Czech Republic, went straight to Jake Voracek, a fellow Czech and former Flyers star of a decade.
He used to work out with Voracek back when he was still playing, Vladar explained, and they developed a close friendship over time. So Vladar knew that if anyone had anything to say about Philadelphia, it would be him.
"He was literally the first guy that I was talking to about Philly," Vladar said of Voracek in a Zoom call with the local media on Friday. "Obviously he told me just the best things about the city."
But it wasn't just him.
Vladar said he also spoke to current and former Czech NHLers Michal Neuvirth, Petr Mrazek, and even Jaromir Jagr, who each had their careers pass through Philadelphia at various points, too.
The praise was the same.
"All the Czech guys, they love the city, and everybody enjoyed their time there," Vladar said. "So that was another big reason for me, why I really wanted to come."
The first reason, though, is for the opportunity that awaits him in the crease.
The Flyers' immediate goaltending situation is in a state of limbo.
Dan Vladar will be looking to play way more games in Philadelphia than he has so far during his five-year NHL career.
Sam Ersson will be returning, but after an inconsistent and injury-riddled 2024-25 season, his place as the No. 1 netminder isn't guaranteed. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov will be back in the picture, too, but they each had their own varying degrees of struggles last year and are likely to go down to the Phantoms in the AHL, at least to start, to make room for Vladar on the NHL roster.
When the 27-year-old signed right at free agency's opening early last week, Flyers general manager Danny Brière said that Vladar would have a chance to come in and compete to be the No. 1 goalie, while also holding out a slightly less ambitious hope for him and Ersson to form a dependable tandem.
But there's going to be a lot of proving to do between the pipes come training camp in September and on into the new season.
Vladar said he can't worry about any promises or job titles because of that.
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"To be honest, I didn't want to hear anything," Vladar said. "I just want to show up as ready as I can and play my best hockey."
"I think the way it should be is whoever's gonna play the best should be playing," he continued. "Obviously, I'm going there to play as many games as I can, but I'm there for team success, so whoever's gonna be hotter at that time should be playing.
"That's my view, and as I said, I'll do my best to play my best hockey and to help us win."
Last season in Calgary, Vladar appeared in 30 games (29 starts) and posted a 12-11-6 record with a .898 save percentage and a 2.80 goals against average, but all as breakout rookie Dustin Wolf was taking over the Flames' net.
The numbers, at face value, look underwhelming, but down the stretch of the schedule, from the start of March to mid-April, Vladar settled into a bit of a groove and posted a .920 save percentage through his last seven games.
He attributed that stretch to finally feeling strong again from hip surgery he underwent in March 2024, which cut his previous year short.
But that's at the root of another concern working against Vladar. Last year in Calgary was the most the goaltender has ever played after five years in the NHL, with his prior career high being 27 games back in the 2022-23 season.
He believes he can handle way more, though, and his new contract is a bet on the Flyers' part that he will.
"I wasn't satisfied with my role in Calgary, and I want to keep moving forward," Vladar said. "I just felt like Philly is the best path for me going forward. I'm 100 percent confident that I have a lot more in me."
But there are no promises, nor any room to worry about them for Vladar or any of the Flyers goalies in the current picture.
"Whether it's going to be over 30 (games) or under 30, it all depends," Vladar added. "How am I going to be playing, how Sam is going to be playing, so I'll just do my best, as I always did.
"But at the same time, I'm super confident that I can be playing more games, for sure."
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