The Flyers needed to find a better solution behind Dan Vladar. While Vladar performed admirably in his first season as a starter, there can't be any assumptions that he will be able to do it again. They will also need to find more time to rest him throughout the season. So there needs to be someone behind him that the Flyers can feel comfortable putting out from time to time.
Sam Ersson was not that player. While his play in the final stretch of the season contributed to the push toward the postseason, his overall body of work was not strong enough to remain in Philadelphia. Approaching free agency, it was likely the Flyers were not going to tender him an offer. So instead of losing him for nothing, they got an asset in return that has had better results.
The writing was on the wall for Ersson, who graded out as one of the worst goaltenders in the league when looking at the last two seasons. According to Natural Stat Trick, he had a -33 GSAA, meaning that over that period, he allowed over 30 more goals than expected. This season alone, he sat at -19.31. At some point, something had to give.
His numbers had also steadily dropped over the past three seasons. And considering Ersson was playing in fewer games, the regression was not a good sign. He has never finished with a save percentage above .900, and he has a career goals-against average of 3.01. A team needs to be able to count on its backup more often than not to provide results. No one is expecting perfection, but reliability instead.
Ersson has only been in the NHL for a little over three seasons, but the Flyers don't have the time to continue waiting on him. They passed expectations last season and have tasted mild postseason success. The standard is raised now, and everyone needs to be on board.
Joseph Woll is an instant upgrade over Sam Ersson
With Vladar solidifying himself as the starting goaltender and a looming extension on the way, finding a true tandem goaltender was necessary. And with no one quite ready in the pipeline, having someone behind him who is under contract is important as well. And that's what the Flyers are getting in Joseph Woll.
For starters, Woll has two years remaining on his deal with a very reasonable 3.66M cap hit. It's just slightly above what Vladar is making on his current contract. The contract also doesn't stand in the way of any incoming prospects. Carson Bjarnason and Aleksei Kolosov need more developmental time in the AHL. Yegor Zavragin may be at least two or three years away from leaving the KHL after reportedly adding another year to his contract after a trade.
Woll has produced far better numbers than Ersson on average. While this past year was his worst season by far, his career numbers lean more toward those of a more-than-average tandem goaltender. Aside from this season, he had never posted a save percentage below .907, and his goals against average was consistently below 3.00. Ersson has only finished below the latter number once.
Woll did post a career-low .899 save percentage this season, but Toronto also took a step back, so that should be taken into account. And even with that, he was still almost 30 points better in that stat than Ersson. The above number was Ersson's career-high save percentage, which he set during a 12-game stint in 2022-23. So statistically, Woll has been the superior goaltender.
And while Woll has suffered injuries throughout his career, he has still been more than available. The Flyers aren't asking him to play over half of the games. Vladar is expected to earn the lion's share, though Danny Briere has mentioned he would like to lighten his workload more if possible. He appeared in 52 games this season. Woll's high was 42, set in 2024-25. Easy math says those combined are far more than the 84 games that will be played starting next season.
Barring any major injury, Woll will likely be asked to start at least 30 or so games. Add in a few more if any relief appearances are necessary as well. And if he plays well, the share could be larger than that. The injuries may still be a concern, but they haven't limited him in a way that should scare the Flyers.
The Flyers answered one of their biggest questions going into next season. They now have a backup goaltender that they believe will solve their issues. And it wasn't a high cost to acquire him. Now it's up to Woll to prove to them that they made the right call.
