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Samuel Ersson

Examining The Philadelphia Flyers’ Goalie Depth

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The Philadelphia Flyers have had their moments over the past decade-plus, but even throughout their periods of championship contention recently, the team has lacked an elite, long-term starting netminder. Steve Mason, who played just four full seasons in a Flyers uniform from 2013 to 2017, was the closest thing they had to one since the new millennium.

Even during their most recent Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2010, goaltending was their major weakness. They were backstopped by a tandem of Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, neither of whom had any recent or successful experience as a true starter. They’ve likely found their next one in 25-year-old Carter Hart, who already sits ninth all-time in wins in franchise history despite playing just five seasons for the Flyers during a period of mediocrity.

Behind Hart, though, new general manager Daniel Brière has made a number of interesting moves to fill out the team’s goalie depth. They arguably have a four-way battle for the backup job heading into next season, although some options are likelier than others. Two players split the backup role for them last season – Felix Sandström and Samuel Ersson, the latter of whom played less but posted far better numbers with a 6-3-0 record and .899 save percentage compared to Sandström’s abysmal .880 mark.

The Flyers are just a handful of years removed from the 2018-19 campaign, where they set an NHL record for most goalies used in a season with eight. Hart, Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Calvin Pickard, Cam Talbot, Michal Neuvirth, Mike McKenna, and Alex Lyon all got some action in the crease in a Philadelphia jersey that season. Next season, they hope someone impresses enough (and stays healthy enough) to break out and bring that number back down to two.

Now, it’s time to see who exactly that could be:

Samuel Ersson

The Flyers think (hope?) they have a late-round gem in Ersson, who they selected 143rd overall in the 2018 NHL Draft. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut just last season and also took over the starting role for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, recording a .900 save percentage and 2.87 goals-against average in 42 games. It was a huge rebound campaign for him after injuries limited him to just five appearances with Lehigh Valley in 2021-22. The team obviously believes in him, handing him a two-year, $2.9MM extension earlier this month set to start in the 2024-25 season.

Of all the names here, Ersson’s the one the Flyers hope commands the backup role come opening night and, ideally, remains in the NHL by the time the 2023-24 season draws to a close. He is still waiver-exempt and isn’t terribly close to requiring them, either. He needs to play 48 more NHL games (or two more NHL seasons, whichever comes first) before he’ll need to clear waivers to head to the minors, per CapFriendly. That being said, from an asset management standpoint, Sandström does require waivers and is a potential claim candidate. Ersson will need to clearly demonstrate Sandström is potentially expendable from the organization with a strong camp.

Ivan Fedotov

There is a fair amount of intrigue in Fedotov’s on-ice potential. The question looms, however, if he’ll actually be at training camp. The IIHF sided with Philadelphia regarding a contract dispute between them, Fedotov and KHL club CSKA Moskva after Fedotov had two technically active contracts for 2023-24. CSKA and the KHL are likely to appeal the ruling, however, and it’s unclear whether Fedotov will travel to the United States and suit up for the Flyers.

Fedotov didn’t play at all last season after completing required military service in Russia, an unforeseen complication that occurred after the Flyers had signed him to an entry-level contract and penciled him into their backup role last season. Given the murky contractual situation and the breakout of Ersson, however, he’s lost the edge on the role. There’s no denying he’s the highest-ceiling option available, however. The 26-year-old stands at an absolutely massive 6-foot-8 and 212 pounds and won the KHL’s Best Goaltender award, an All-Star team nod, a Gagarin Cup championship, and an Olympic silver medal – all during the 2021-22 season. The year prior, he still posted spectacular numbers, recording a .925 save percentage in 26 games with CSKA.

Cal Petersen

The Flyers acquired Petersen, 28, via trade from the Los Angeles Kings to provide some cap relief in the three-way deal that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Briefly viewed as Los Angeles’ long-term goalie option post-Jonathan Quick, Petersen had a disastrous 2022-23 campaign which saw him post a .868 save percentage in nine starts before the Kings waived him (and his $5MM cap hit) and assigned him to the AHL.

With two years remaining on his deal, Petersen hasn’t looked like himself since posting a 9-18-5 record but a sparkling .911 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average for the Kings in 2020-21. He’s the most experienced option available to the Flyers for the backup role with 94 NHL starts under his belt, and he may enter next season with some renewed confidence after a strong performance for the United States at the World Championships. That being said, he’s a non-candidate to get claimed on waivers given his albatross contract, and he’ll need to significantly outplay the trio of younger, higher-upside netminders here in order to return to a full-time NHL role in a Flyers uniform.

Felix Sandström

Selected 70th overall in 2015, Sandström didn’t take the step forward that Philadelphia wished he would have last season. The 26-year-old started the season as Hart’s backup but won just three out of 18 starts, posting poor advanced and standard stats in the process. He has posted good enough numbers when given the chance in the minors, but he hasn’t shown anything at the NHL level to suggest it can translate.

That being said, he’s still relatively young in goalie years at 26, and if he shows enough strides in camp, it could be enough to earn him the nod over Ersson (or Fedotov) to avoid exposing him to waivers or to make the Flyers consider carrying three netminders. Either way, he likely won’t receive more than the 20 games he played overall for the Flyers last season, save for a significant injury to Hart.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Flyers Sign Samuel Ersson To Two-Year Extension

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6:42 pm: CapFriendly has learned the details of Ersson’s two-year extension. The young netminder will earn $1MM in base salary plus a $300K signing bonus in 2024-25, while he’ll get $1.6MM in base salary with no bonuses in 2025-26.

9:37 am: The Flyers have locked up one of their goalies of the future, announcing that they’ve signed Samuel Ersson to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2025-26 season.  The extension will carry a cap hit of $1.45MM.

The 23-year-old made his NHL debut in 2022-23, getting into a dozen games with Philadelphia where he certainly held his own, posting a 3.07 GAA along with a .899 SV%.  He became just the second goalie in franchise history to win his first six decisions.  Ersson spent most of the year at the AHL level with Lehigh Valley where he put up a 2.84 GAA and a .900 SV% in 42 appearances, finishing sixth league-wide in minutes played (2,511) and victories (24).

A fifth-round pick of the Flyers back in 2018 (143rd overall), Ersson still has one year remaining on his entry-level contract, a deal that carries an AAV of $925K.

With the Flyers acquiring Cal Petersen and still having Felix Sandstrom in the fold (plus the ongoing Ivan Fedotov saga as the team tries to get the IIHF to recognize his tolled contract), it seemed like Ersson, who is still waiver-exempt, was a strong candidate to go back to the Phantoms next season.  That way, he’d have an opportunity to play the bulk of the games once again.

On the surface, this contract implies otherwise.  For the Flyers to commit two years at $1.45MM on a one-way deal to Ersson a year early, it’s reasonable to infer that they expect him to see a reasonable amount of NHL action next season.  If not, it probably wouldn’t have cost them this much to sign Ersson a year from now.  As a result, he might not just be a goalie of the future for Philadelphia but one of their goalies of the present as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Flyers Activate Travis Konecny Off Injured Reserve, Recall Samuel Ersson

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The Flyers won’t be contending for a playoff spot in the final couple of weeks of the season but they will get a boost to their lineup up front.  Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes (Twitter link) that winger Travis Konecny has been activated from injured reserve to rejoin the active roster.

The 26-year-old has missed the last six weeks with an upper-body injury, about double what the original recovery timeline was expected to be.  However, Konecny remains Philadelphia’s top scorer with 27 goals and 27 assists in just 52 games, a pace that had him well on his way to setting new career highs across the board prior to the injury.  If nothing else, getting back into a few games will give Konecny and the coaching staff some certainty that he’ll be fully ready to go for training camp in the fall.

Philadelphia doesn’t have any forwards up with the big club on an emergency loan so no corresponding roster move needed to be made to accommodate Konecny’s return.

However, they once again have a goalie up on an emergency basis as the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Samuel Ersson has been brought back up from AHL Lehigh Valley.  He was sent down yesterday to get a game in with the Phantoms.  Carter Hart remains unavailable although he was on the ice prior to the morning skate today.  Ersson has a 3.07 GAA and a .898 SV% in 10 NHL appearances this season plus a 2.68 GAA and a .904 SV% in 37 AHL contests.

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Ersson, Penguins Defensemen, Edstrom

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With a looming cap crunch for the Rangers, they will be hard-pressed to re-sign their pending restricted free agents to market-value contracts and round out the rest of their roster.  To that end, Arthur Staple of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that they may need to focus on bridge deals with defenseman K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere or even consider the possibility of moving Lafreniere this offseason.  New York has more than $71MM in commitments to 14 players for next season per CapFriendly and a long-term deal for Miller would eat up a bulk of their cap space alone.  It’s a problem they can ignore for now with the team aiming for a long postseason run but GM Chris Drury is going to have his work cut out for him to keep his core intact this summer.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Flyers have returned goaltender Samuel Ersson to AHL Lehigh Valley, notes Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). He had served as the backup for Philadelphia for the past two games with Carter Hart dealing with an illness.  Ersson’s first taste of NHL action has gone relatively well this season as he has a 3.03 GAA and a .898 SV% in ten games while winning six of his eight starts.
  • A pair of injured Penguins defensemen have returned to the ice. Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that Marcus Pettersson skated on his own before practice today with head coach Mike Sullivan indicating that the 26-year-old is making progress.  He’s currently on LTIR and isn’t eligible to return until April 13th.  Meanwhile, Jan Rutta returned to practice in a non-contact jersey.  He has been out with an undisclosed injury for the last two weeks.  Pittsburgh is down three blueliners at the moment (Dmitry Kulikov is also out) and just narrowly holding onto the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
  • The Rangers have re-assigned prospect Adam Edstrom to the minors, per an announcement from AHL Hartford. The 22-year-old forward more than doubled his point output from a year ago, collecting nine goals and ten assists in 42 games with SHL Rogle.  With their playoff run now over, Edstrom will now get his first taste of playing in North America.

Philadelphia Flyers Recall Samuel Ersson

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Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer announces that the Philadelphia Flyers have recalled goaltender Samuel Ersson from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In unfortunate news for the Flyers, the callup was required because Carter Hart will miss some time with a lower-body injury.

In his first year of action in the NHL, Ersson has been a mixed bag. On the positive side, Ersson is 6-1 after eight starts, including one 28-save shutout against the high-scoring Buffalo Sabres. On the other hand, Ersson holds a save percentage of .898 and a scoring chance save percentage of .862. Separating out the team statistics versus the goaltending statistics, the Flyers may simply be playing better at times their young goaltender has started.

In the AHL so far this season, Ersson has fared much better than last year. On a Lehigh Valley team looking to sneak into the playoffs, Ersson has a record of 21-14-1, with a save percentage of .904 and a goals-against average of 2.70. Only playing in five games last year, coupled with his usage in the NHL this year, Ersson has clearly been given more trust within the Flyers organization.

Metropolitan Notes: Penguins, Hughes, Ersson, Svechnikov

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With Jan Rutta and Jeff Petry both leaving Tuesday’s game against Montreal with undisclosed injuries, the Penguins were forced to finish that contest with four blueliners.  As Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out, they might not be able to dress six for Thursday’s contest against the Rangers.  Even with Dmitry Kulikov going on LTIR earlier today, that still only opens up enough cap space for one recall with Anaheim holding back half of Kulikov’s cap hit.  That means that Pittsburgh could bring up Mark Friedman or Taylor Fedun from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Ty Smith is injured) but they would still have to play short a blueliner for a game before becoming eligible for a cap-exempt emergency recall.  Of course, if one of Rutta or Petry can suit up against New York, they’ll be able to ice a full lineup.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Rangers prospect Riley Hughes has entered the NCAA transfer portal, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was a seventh-round pick by New York back in 2018 (216th overall) but hasn’t been particularly productive over four years at Northeastern.  This season, Hughes had just two goals and four assists in 32 games, numbers that weren’t going to help him earn an entry-level deal this summer.  He’s eligible for one more bonus year of eligibility and that season will now be played elsewhere.
  • The Flyers have assigned Samuel Ersson back to AHL Lehigh Valley, interim GM Daniel Briere told reporters including Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 23-year-old was recalled yesterday with Carter Hart being out due to illness but it appears that Hart will be ready for their next game on Friday against Buffalo.  Ersson has played in 13 games with Philadelphia this season, posting a 3.07 GAA and a .898 SV%.
  • As expected, the Hurricanes have placed winger Andrei Svechnikov on LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is out for the season is set to undergo season-ending knee surgery on Thursday.  The placement adds Svechnikov’s $7.75MM AAV to Carolina’s LTIR pool, one that went into the day with less than $850K in space, or enough for one AHL recall.  With Svechnikov on LTIR, affording recalls shouldn’t be an issue for them for the rest of the season.

Flyers Recall Foerster, Ersson

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The Philadelphia Flyers announced a pair of players were called up to the NHL this morning. Forward Tyson Foerster and goaltender Samuel Ersson were both brought up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to fill out the NHL roster. The team also mentioned the Foerster recall was on an emergency basis.

Foerster had been called up earlier this month to make his NHL debut and played two games, though he did not register a point with the Flyers. He was sent back down to Lehigh Valley on Sunday, but returns in time to face the Vegas Golden Knights tonight. He is a 21-year-old forward who is playing his first full pro season and has 19 goals and 39 points in 57 games for the Phantoms.

Ersson has been called up to fill in as the team’s backup tonight. The Flyers number one goalie, Carter Hart, is out of the lineup with an illness. Felix Sandstrom will get the call tonight, while Ersson will serve as the number two option. Ersson has played ten NHL games this season, posting a 3.07 GAA with an .898 SV%. The 23 year old has played 31 AHL games this season with a 2.61 GAA and a .907 SV%.

Philadelphia Flyers Make Several Roster Moves

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The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that forward Kieffer Bellows and goaltender Samuel Ersson have been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In addition, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Olivier Reiner notes that Zack MacEwen has been placed on injured reserve.

These moves bring Bellows back to the Flyers’ active roster just days after he was placed on waivers by the team. Bellows played one game in his stint in the minors, tallying an assist and three shots on goal in Lehigh Valley’s 3-0 win over the Bridgeport Islanders.

Bellows now has ten points in 12 AHL games this season, although he has found NHL success harder to come by. He has just one goal in 16 total games this season, but will at least bring some size and grit to reinforce the Flyers’ forward corps for their road trip.

In Ersson, the Flyers add a third goalie to their active roster. The 23-year-old 2018 fifth-round pick has had a strong season serving as the Flyers’ number-three goalie. At the AHL level, he’s played in 26 games and boasts a 15-10-1 record, a 2.58 goals-against-average, and a .911 save percentage.

In the NHL, Ersson has won five of his six starts with strong overall numbers: a 2.37 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. While teams typically don’t like to carry three goaltenders, it’s possible this recall is designed to give the Flyers a chance to use a contest on this four-game road trip to further evaluate Ersson.

The final move, putting MacEwen on injured reserve, comes as no surprise. The forward underwent surgery to repair a broken jaw in late January, and was given a five-week timeline to return to the ice. His placement on injured reserve frees a roster spot for the Flyers to work with, allowing them to bring extra bodies on their road trip.

MacEwen is on an expiring $925k AAV deal and will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. He became an NHL regular with Philadelphia last season after he was claimed off of waivers from the Vancouver Canucks, and he ended up skating in 75 contests, where he registered three goals, nine points, and 110 penalty minutes.

Felix Sandstrom Recalled From Conditioning Loan

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Now that his two-week maximum is over, Felix Sandstrom’s conditioning loan has come to an end. The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender has been recalled, with Samuel Ersson reassigned back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in his place.

It’s kind of an odd situation, given how well Ersson has played. The 23-year-old netminder has a .918 save percentage in seven appearances and is 5-0 on the year. But the Flyers, despite their recent play, are still seventh in the Metropolitan Division. The front office knows that securing a higher draft position is important, if they aren’t going to compete for the playoffs.

So up comes Sandstrom, and down goes Ersson. The former has posted an .888 in nine appearances, losing all but one of them this year. There’s little doubt that right now, Ersson is playing better. There’s also a decent chance that Sandstrom would clear waivers if assigned, given his performance so far this year. But it isn’t worth the risk at this point, given where the Flyers sit.

Instead, they’ll go back to Carter Hart handling the lion’s share of the work. His play, like the rest of Philadelphia, has been inconsistent this year. One night he will be dragging the team to a victory, while the next he’s getting pulled early on. A .907 save percentage has resulted in 20 losses across his 33 appearances so far.

Ersson, who missed almost all of 2021-22 with injury, needs to play as much as possible. The fifth-round pick appeared in just five games last season but has shown enough this year for the Flyers to really value his future. He’ll get a lot more playing time in Lehigh Valley than he would as Hart’s backup down the stretch.

Philadelphia Flyers Send Felix Sandstrom On Conditioning Stint

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After activating Carter Hart from injured reserve yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers did not immediately send a goaltender to the minor leagues. It was a curious decision, given Samuel Ersson could be loaned without exposing him to waivers. Today, they’ve explained why, by sending Felix Sandstrom on a conditioning stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. That does not require him to pass through waivers. The team has also recalled Kieffer Bellows from the AHL with the extra roster spot they had.

Sandstrom, 25, has essentially been overtaken by Ersson on the depth chart and has appeared just once in the last month despite Hart’s brief absence. The former top prospect has an .888 save percentage in nine appearances this season and has lost seven of them, looking shaky almost every time he entered the net. The only thing saving him from being assigned to the minor leagues more permanently is his waiver status, which would require the Flyers to expose him before sending him down.

Given that goaltenders are the most frequent waiver claims, that could be risky, though it is rather obvious who the team would prefer as the backup right now. Ersson has played well in Hart’s place, getting the last three starts and allowing just six goals on 86 shots. All three were wins, something the Flyers haven’t been able to say very often this year.

Some fans will suggest that it isn’t even a good thing. The Flyers sit 14-17-7 on the year and don’t look to have any chance of competing for the playoffs, but runs like their current win streak also push them further away from lottery contention. The club now sits 26th in the league, and 15 points ahead of the last-place Chicago Blackhawks. Eventually, they will have to make a decision on whether or not to expose Sandstrom to waivers or send Ersson back down.

Bellows, meanwhile, is coming back up after once again showing that he can score regularly at the minor league level. The 24-year-old was claimed off waivers from the New York Islanders earlier this season and struggled with his new club, failing to register a point in 12 Flyers games. But in 11 matches with the Phantoms, he has nine points and was back to playing his physical, gritty game. If the 2016 first-round pick has any NHL potential left in him, there’s no better time to show it.

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