Latest news with #DanVladar
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Flyers poach center from Canadiens, sign veteran goalie in free agency
The post Flyers poach center from Canadiens, sign veteran goalie in free agency appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Philadelphia Flyers have made a flurry of additions in NHL Free Agency, the most notable including the signings of center Christian Dvorak and goaltender Dan Vladar, general manager Danny Briere announced. The franchise has also added defensemen Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert, along with depth center Lane Pederson. Dvorak and Vladar are certainly the marquee signings of the group; the former was one of the best remaining free-agent options in a relatively weak center class. Dvorak is coming off a decent 2024-25 campaign with the Montreal Canadiens, where he scored 12 goals and 33 points over a full 82-game slate. He has a career 53.1 percent success rate on faceoffs throughout his 534-game NHL career, which should be a huge help for a Flyers team that is significantly lacking down the middle. He joins trade acquisition Trevor Zegras to help shore up the position in 2025-26. If Philly is unable to rebound from a tough campaign, Dvorak could be a prime trade deadline candidate after signing a one-year deal with a $5.4 million cap hit. It's a steep price, but the longtime Canadien should be a good add to the forward core. The 10-year NHL veteran has recorded 249 career regular-season points. Another place the team badly needed an upgrade was between the pipes. Philly had the worst save percentage in the league in 2024-25, with neither Samuel Ersson or Ivan Fedotov providing much stability at all between the pipes. Briere hopes that the addition of Vladar will do just that; the 27-year-old signed a two-year contract with a $3.35 million AAV. After Jake Allen re-signed with the New Jersey Devils, Vladar emerged into one of the best UFA options on the market. The former Calgary Flame was one of the league's better backups in 2024-25, seeing 30 starts and posting a 2.80 goals-against average and .898 save percentage in that span, along with a .586 quality start percentage. With Dustin Wolf the goaltender of the future in Alberta, it made sense that Vladar looked for a change of scenery. If anything, Vladar brings more stability to Philadelphia's crease, and gives the squad some breathing room on a two-year deal. Both he and Dvorak should make an immediate impact in the City of Brotherly Love in 2025-26. The Flyers also announced one-year deals for Gilbert ($875,000), Juulsen ($900,000) and Pederson (two-way, $775,000). All transactions on Tuesday are being followed and analyzed in ClutchPoints' NHL Free Agent tracker. Related: Flyers' Tyson Foerester gets crushing injury timeline for 2025-26 season
CBS News
07-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Cam York, Philadelphia Flyers agree to 5-year contract extension
The Philadelphia Flyers and restricted free agent Cam York have agreed to a five-year, $25.75 million contract extension, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the agreement had not been announced. York will count $5.15 million against the salary cap through the 2029-30 NHL season. That price could turn out to be a bargain with the upper limit rising from $88 million this past season to $113.5 million by 2027-28. Sportsnet in Canada was the first to report the agreement. Re-signing the 25-year-old defenseman takes care of an important piece of offseason business for the Flyers as they try to shift from rebuilding to contending. York was the final player on the roster without a contract. York, the 14th pick in the 2019 draft, has skated nearly 21 minutes per game so far in his pro career, all with Philadelphia. He has 77 points in 235 games for the Flyers, who have not made the playoffs since 2020. On paper, extending York is Flyers general manager Danny Briere's last piece of business for the summer. The Flyers hired Rick Tocchet as head coach earlier in the offseason. Last week, they added a goalie, center and defensive depth by signing Dan Vladar, Christian Dvorak and Noah Juulsen in free agency. Last month, they selected Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt in the 2025 NHL draft.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NHL Free Agency: Flyers Quickly Knock Out 3 Big Needs
Christian Dvorak immediately improves the Flyers' depth at center. (Photo: Eric Hartline, Imagn Images) The Philadelphia Flyers are on a crusade to start NHL free agency, quickly signing multiple players, including Christian Dvorak, to address some big team needs. The biggest - literally - and perhaps the most important piece of business from the Flyers Tuesday was signing 6-foot-5 goalie Dan Vladar, who is now the only non-prospect to be contracted beyond the upcoming 2025-26 season. Advertisement Vladar, 27, should provide some semblance of stability to a position that has had none for the Flyers in recent years, even if he's not quite good enough to elevate the Flyers as a whole. On the more surprising side, the Flyers also went out and added versatile forward Christian Dvorak on a one-year deal worth $5.4 million. This was, for all intents and purposes, and overpayment, even in this free agent market, but this was probably the cost the Flyers needed to pay to pry Dvorak away from Stanley Cup contenders. The 29-year-old played for new Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet during their time together with the Arizona Coyotes and has six 30-point seasons to his name at the NHL level. Oh, and he's won more than 55% of his faceoffs in each of the last two seasons. Advertisement The Flyers needed a reliable replacement for the departed Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling while they wait for Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt to develop, and signing Dvorak buys them another year for that. Additionally, with the salary retained in the Andrei Kuzmenko trade now off the books, the Flyers have one more salary retention available to use this season. Ex-Flyers Defenseman Ivan Provorov Signs Absurd Contract Ahead of NHL Free Agency Ex-Flyers Defenseman Ivan Provorov Signs Absurd Contract Ahead of NHL Free Agency The Philadelphia Flyers have won the Ivan Provorov trade in more ways than one. Assuming Dvorak has a good season in Philadelphia, the Flyers can retain half his salary and move him at the NHL trade deadline. Then, if Luchanko's season ends early, he can then replace Dvorak and join the Flyers at the end of the season. Advertisement Two moves that made less sense were the additions of journeymen defensemen Noah Juulsen (RHD) and Dennis Gilbert (LHD). These players could very well be brought in simply to breed competition for NHL roster spots, but fans won't be happy about the possibility two ineffective veterans with limited skillsets block prospects like Emil Andrae and Helge Grans from playing time. Including Cam York and excluding Grans, the Flyers now have nine defensemen on their NHL roster, so something is going to have to give a few months from now. It's worth noting that Juulsen was a favorite of Tocchet's on the Vancouver Canucks and is highly regarded for his shot blocking and penalty kill work, but he also didn't record a point in 35 games last season and is coming off a season-ending injury. Advertisement If the Flyers really wanted veterans to push for ice time, why not try Adam Ginning, a 25-year-old prospect on an expiring contract running out of time to crack the NHL? Hunter McDonald, Grans, and Louie Belpedio are there, too. The Flyers also added a depth forward in Lane Pedersen, who briefly played for Tocchet in the past, as well. With Tuesday's proceedings seemingly coming to a halt with a decision from Maxim Shabanov looming, the Flyers have $5.49 million in cap space with, hopefully, enough room to re-sign York and add Shabanov.
New York Times
01-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Flyers forced to overpay to add Christian Dvorak, Dan Vladar in free agency
VOORHEES, N.J. — The Philadelphia Flyers entered the first day of NHL free agency with two easily identifiable holes in their lineup. They wasted no time — or money — in filling either. Less than an hour after the market opened at noon ET on Tuesday, the club had agreed to a one-year, $5.4 million contract for Christian Dvorak, 29, while goaltender Dan Vladar, 27, was inked to a two-year deal at $3.35 million annually. Vladar's contract includes an eight-team no-trade clause, per a team source. Advertisement More veteran/minor league depth was added before the afternoon was over, including defensemen Noah Juulsen (one year, $900,000) and Dennis Gilbert (one year, $795,000); and center Lane Pederson (one year, two-way, $775,000). But Dvorak and Vladar were the much more notable additions, considering how vital it was for the Flyers had to address both of those key positions. Their inflated salaries — both of which were well above most projections — speaks to how desperate the Flyers were to find immediate help, coupled with what was a weak market. It was also strategic, according to general manager Daniel Briere, who would prefer maximum flexibility for the 2026 offseason, especially. According to PuckPedia, the Flyers are now approximately $4.6 million under the salary-cap ceiling, a total that doesn't include the coming extension for Cam York, but does include the injured Ryan Ellis' $6.25 million. '(The salaries) show that we focused on term — short term — to try to fill those holes,' he said. 'Guys were willing to bet on themselves, which is awesome. For us, term was way more important than anything else. But sometimes, you've got to give somewhere to entice those types of players to come in. We know that the salaries were very competitive. But where it helps us is, it keeps the flexibility, moving forward, in our favor.' Dvorak spent his last four seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, posting 12 goals and 21 assists in 82 games in 2024-25, playing mostly on a line with Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher. They formed what was essentially Montreal's second line in the second half of the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs. Prior to joining Montreal in 2021, Dvorak spent five seasons with the Arizona Coyotes — the final four of which were with new Flyers coach Rick Tocchet behind the bench. Dvorak's best season came under Tocchet in 2019-20, when he posted 18 goals and 38 points for the Coyotes, both career-highs. Advertisement Dvorak can kill penalties and is strong in the faceoff circle, something that was important to the Flyers, particularly after they traded Ryan Poehling to the Ducks as part of the Trevor Zegras deal. While Zegras could also fill one one of the vacancies at center, he doesn't kill penalties and has been generally awful in the circle throughout his career. Dvorak gives Tocchet more flexibility to deploy different line combinations at different times, depending on certain game situations. 'He's a player that is not going to hurt you. Defensively, you can rely (on him) and play him against any lines,' Briere said. 'That's the interesting part. Matchup-wise, it makes his life easier with (Sean Couturier) being that way, (Noah) Cates being that way, (Jett) Luchanko is known (for that). … You don't have to worry about matchups.' Dvorak ran into some injury issues in Montreal. His season was cut short in 2022-23 when he tore his ACL, and after missing the first part of the 2023-24 season recovering, he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in January. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes on Tuesday said Dvorak 'had a real strong second half of the year' after overcoming his various ailments in recent seasons. 'I think what we saw of him in the second half is really what he is,' Hughes said. 'He just finally got back into a rhythm, back into real hockey shape.' In goal, Briere acknowledged that he did explore the trade market, but because it was thin and so many teams were seeking help, 'the prices were way more than we were willing to pay.' Other free agents were seeking deals of at least three years, which was a non-starter for the Flyers. In fact, Briere would have preferred to sign a goalie to just a one-year deal, 'but we realized to get some help, we needed to step it up a little bit.' Advertisement So enter Vladar, whose.895 career save percentage in 105 career games over five season isn't exactly eye-popping, but still figures to be a massive upgrade over the two backups the Flyers played regularly last season in Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov. It's safe to assume that Vladar and Samuel Ersson will form the tandem on opening night, while Fedotov presumably will be waived and assigned to AHL Lehigh Valley to serve as the emergency No. 3. The Flyers finished last season with the league's worst save percentage (.872). 'Dan Vladar told us very early on that he saw an opportunity,' Briere said. 'He wanted to come in and compete in Philadelphia. We jumped on it. … There's no perfect goalie that was available out there, but we feel he gives us a chance to come in and compete with our group and push the envelope. He has a chance to become our No. 1 depending on how he plays, (and) how our other guys play.' It's likely the Flyers' offseason is over, other than waiting to find out whether Russian prospect Maxim Shabanov will sign with them. There have been consistent, unverified reports out of Russia linking Shabanov to the Flyers, but nothing had been agreed to as of Tuesday afternoon. Briere said he had spoken with Shabanov's camp on Tuesday, and he's under the impression the Flyers are one of the teams the undersized but talented winger is considering, but they don't know which way he's leaning. Regardless of what happens with Shabanov, though, Briere sees a more competitive team than the one that finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL last season. 'We made the team a little better, and that's the goal,' he said. 'Keeps the flexibility for the future. But at the same time, brings some hope, and shows the fans and the players on the team that we're taking steps forward.' Briere also confirmed a report from that forward Tyson Foerster could miss the start of the season with an infection in his arm. Advertisement Foerster suffered an injury playing for Team Canada at the World Championships in May that Briere and the club didn't think was serious. But, 'there was some infection that set in to the elbow, and then it just got worse,' he said. 'He saw our doctors and decided they had to go in and remove the infection.' Briere indicated that the Flyers are still awaiting test results. 'At that point, we'll reevaluate and see if more needs to be done, or if we're lucky enough that's the end of it and he can move on and be ready for the start of the season. But there's no guarantee of that. We're sitting and waiting right now to see how serious it is or not.' The club's second-leading goal scorer last season with 25, Foerster signed a two-year, $7.5 million contract extension on May 29. (Photo of Christian Dvorak: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
Ottawa Citizen
01-07-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
Flames stay quiet in free-agency. That should be reassuring
Article content The Calgary Flames have a plan, and they're sticking to it. Article content That plan does not involve handing out long-term contracts to veterans. Not in 2023, not in 2024 and not on Tuesday, when the NHL's free-agency market officially opened for 2025. Article content Article content The plan isn't simple, but it's easy enough to explain: The Flames are trying to stay in playoff contention while building through the draft. That's it. That's the plan, or the basic outline of it, at least. Article content Article content They'll keep their cap flexibility until they're ready to make a move. If the right player becomes available, sure, they'll have a go, but when the Los Angeles Kings are handing out sweetheart four year deals that pay Cody Ceci US$4.5-million annually the way they did Tuesday, there just aren't that many bargain deals and short-term contracts out there. Article content Article content And so, the Flames were quiet on Tuesday. They didn't go out and spend money to try to make sure they got a few lucrative playoff pay-days for ownership next spring. They waved a grateful goodbye to backup goalie Dan Vladar, who signed with the Philadelphia Flyers. They'll need to find a replacement. Maybe that's Calgary Wranglers backstop Devin Cooley, or maybe it's Ivan Prosvetov, who they were heavily linked to on Tuesday. Article content Article content Article content That was it. Article content Underwhelming? Anti-climatic? Maybe, but the Flames stuck to their plan. Article content And even people who aren't convinced the plan will work out must at least see that having one and sticking to it is better than the alternative. Article content 'In free-agency, there is going to come a time when we are going to go out and identify guys and get guys because we're right there,' said Flames GM Craig Conroy. 'To do it right now just for the sake of doing it, because today is free-agency, just doesn't make sense. It's not part of the plan.
