The Flyers don’t have the luxury of pretending their goalie depth is fine.
That much became clear in training camp and the short NHL preseason, where Aleksei Kolosov did little to convince the club he can be trusted if Dan Vladar or Joseph Woll goes down. Both Vladar and Woll have carried durability questions through their NHL careers, and Philadelphia already got a scare when Vladar suffered an innocuous upper-body injury in Game 3 against Boston and missed a few days. He’s seemingly moving in the right direction for opening night against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, but the larger issue remains: the Flyers need a better No. 3 plan.
Paying draft capital or other assets for a reserve goalie would be a bad move at this stage. The waiver wire, though, gives Philadelphia a chance to improve the position without spending anything beyond patience and timing.
On Sunday afternoon, with opening night rosters due Monday night, several goalies hit waivers across the league. The group was led by Czech veterans Vitek Vanecek and David Rittich.
Rittich, 34, is the most attractive name for the Flyers. New Jersey put him on waivers Sunday after claiming goalie Remi Poirier from Dallas, and he’s the best option available if Philadelphia wants a more stable third goalie right away.
Rittich has bounced around the league over the last six seasons, with stops in Nashville, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Ontario (AHL), the New York Islanders, and now New Jersey. Last season with the Islanders, he went 14-10-3 in 30 games while posting a .894 save percentage, a 2.76 GAA, and two shutouts as Ilya Sorokin’s backup.
New Jersey’s decision to waive him in favor of Poirier, Nico Daws, and Jake Allen could make other teams hesitate to claim him as a No. 2. If he’s claimed, he’d still have to clear waivers again to be stashed in Lehigh Valley.
Rittich probably won’t be sitting around long, but the Flyers should at least try to grab and stash him.
Vanecek offers a different profile. The 30-year-old never really bounced back from a rough 2023 playoff run with New Jersey, and since the 2022-23 season he hasn’t posted a save percentage higher than .890 at the NHL level.
Still, his résumé is more than respectable: a career .900 save percentage in 210 regular-season games across eight seasons. He also had a strong 2022-23 run with the Devils, finishing 33-11-4 with a 2.45 GAA, a .911 save percentage, and three shutouts.
His downside is real, but so is the upside. And with the game simplified for him the way the Flyers did with Vladar last year, Vanecek could be a useful fit.
His 5-13-3 record with Utah last season makes it less likely another team will chase him, which only strengthens his appeal for Philadelphia. Compared with Kolosov, he looks far more reliable and far less likely to hand the Flyers a loss.
Then there’s Nikita Tolopilo, the most intriguing goalie to reach waivers Sunday. The 26-year-old Belarusian stands 6-foot-6 and made his NHL debut for Vancouver in 2025 under current Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet. He’s also a recent Calder Cup champion.
Tolopilo split the 2025-26 season almost evenly between Vancouver and AHL Abbotsford, going 6-11-2 with a 3.61 GAA and .881 save percentage for the Canucks. In Abbotsford, where the roster was equally thin and had just one 20-goal scorer, he went 8-8-3 with a 3.07 GAA and .897 save percentage.
The raw numbers aren’t eye-catching, but Tolopilo brings pro experience from the KHL, AHL, NHL, and HockeyAllsvenskan. His familiarity with Tocchet and the coach’s system helps too. He’d also be a logical target as a fringe NHLer who could benefit from a cleaner opportunity elsewhere.
For the Flyers, Tolopilo would make sense as a No. 3, especially because he’s older, bigger, and better than Kolosov and more in line physically with Vladar and Woll. He’d also have the bonus of reconnecting with countrymen and former teammates Kolosov and Danila Klimovich in Allentown.
In Other News...
Flyers Opener Will Test How Much Tocchets Second Year Really Changed
Rick Tocchet spent practice day talking less about the novelty of Year 2 and more about what should already feel familiar for the Flyers as the opener approaches. After a preseason loss, the team got back to work with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny both acknowledging there is still room to sharpen up, even as Tocchet pointed to the groups growing comfort in his system and the added maturity he wants to see carry over once games start to count.
Dan Vladar was also on the ice, which is at least an encouraging sign for a club getting ready to face Pittsburgh in its season opener. His availability is still something to monitor, but the larger test for Philadelphia is simpler: whether a second season under Tocchet looks like a true step forward or just a team that understands the plan without fully executing it yet. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Have A Bigger Question Than Last Years Playoff Return
Looking ahead to the 2026-27 season, there is reason to think the Flyers could finally have a lineup with more finishing talent baked into it. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone are both viewed as the kind of young scorers who can change the shape of a forward group, and the broader sense around the roster is that Philadelphia may be getting closer to having enough punch to support a real step forward.
The bigger question, though, is how all of that scoring talent fits with the rest of the picture, especially in a league where stability in net and true top-end finishing can swing a season. Joseph Woll is part of that conversation as a possible solution behind the crease, while Tyson Foerster has also been mentioned as a player who could take another jump. The Flyers have spent enough time trying to climb back into the mix that the next test is no longer just getting there, but finding out whether the pieces around their young core can actually hold up once they do. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Opening Night Roster Reveals A Few Surprising Lineup Clues
The Flyers settled their 23-man opening night roster for the 2026-27 season, and the shape of it offered a few early clues about how they plan to open the year. The group breaks down to 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, with Garrett Wilson among the names on the list and a defense corps that now includes newcomers David Jiricek and Simon Benoit.
The most immediate development is in net, where Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll are slated to form the opening-night tandem. That pairing gives Philadelphia a clear answer at the position for now, while the rest of the roster suggests the team is already leaning on some new pieces as it heads into the season. [Read more 🡒]