Dan Vladar has taken over the Flyers’ crease, and Philadelphia’s late-season surge has given the club a real foundation for 2026-27. With Joseph Woll joining him in net, Porter Martone pushing for more responsibility and speed throughout the lineup, the Flyers enter the new season looking to build on a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Philadelphia Flyers notebook: Vladar’s crease, Martone’s net-front finish and a fast blue line
Philadelphia erased an eight-point gap in the Metropolitan Division race during the stretch drive last season, going 18-6-1 from Feb. 26 through the end of the regular season. That .740 points percentage was tied for second best in the NHL over that period, and it carried the Flyers into the postseason for the first time since 2020.
Vladar started 18 of those final 25 games and established himself as Philadelphia’s No. 1 goaltender in his sixth NHL campaign. The 29-year-old finished tied with Colorado Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood for the League lead in 5-on-5 save percentage at .927.
It was a dramatic change from 2024-25, when Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov combined for an .890 save percentage at 5-on-5. That was the lowest team figure in the NHL since the stat began being tracked in 2009-10.
Vladar posted 35 quality starts, tied for second in the League, and his 68.8 percent quality-start rate ranked fifth. He stopped .822 of high-danger chances in the regular season, above the NHL average of .811, then raised that mark to .861 in the playoffs, second among qualifying goalies who played at least five games.
The Flyers also helped their goalie by keeping the middle of the ice relatively clean. Philadelphia allowed 529 high-danger shots on goal, second fewest in the NHL behind only the Vegas Golden Knights at 522.
Woll, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 16, gives the Flyers another established option behind Vladar. His .812 high-danger save percentage narrowly topped the League average last season while he handled a demanding workload.
Scoring areas to watch
The Flyers had issues generating possession and producing on the power play last season. They finished 26th in 5-on-5 shot-attempt share at 47.6 percent and ranked last in power-play efficiency at 15.7 percent, the second time in three seasons they occupied the bottom spot.
Still, Philadelphia found offense from the middle of the attacking zone, tying for sixth in the NHL with 90 mid-range goals.
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Owen Tippett matched his career best and led Philadelphia with 28 goals. He recorded 24 long-range shots on goal, placing him in the 94th percentile among forwards, while his four long-range goals ranked in the 99th percentile and were tied for third at his position. Tippett also produced 88 mid-range shots, in the 97th percentile, and 10 mid-range goals, in the 93rd percentile.
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Travis Konecny paced the Flyers with 68 points in 77 games, his fifth straight season as the club’s scoring leader. He generated 67 mid-range shots and 13 goals from that area, ranking in the 90th and 96th percentiles, respectively. His two long-range goals also landed in the 93rd percentile among forwards.
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Trevor Zegras scored 26 goals and collected 67 points in 81 games during his first Flyers season, both NHL career highs. His 13 high-danger goals were the most on the roster and sat one below his personal best of 14 with the Anaheim Ducks in 2022-23.
Martone could be the player who changes Philadelphia’s profile around the net. The 19-year-old forward, selected sixth overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, collected four goals and six assists in nine regular-season games. He added four power-play points, 32 shots, 16 hits and averaged 17:02 of ice time.
All four of Martone’s goals came from high-danger territory. That is a notable detail for a team that scored only 102 high-danger goals last season, second fewest in the League.
Skating legs remain a Flyers strength
Philadelphia’s pace showed up in its tracking numbers. The Flyers skated 3,774.10 total miles last season, sixth most in the NHL, and averaged 9.24 miles per 60 minutes, ninth in the League.
Travis Sanheim remains the engine on the blue line. Since 2023-24, he has been one of 13 NHL defensemen to appear in at least 200 games while averaging at least 24 minutes a night; his average sits at 24:11.
Last season, Sanheim ranked ninth among defensemen in all-situations skating distance at 284.76 miles and was also ninth at even strength with 242.42 miles. His 28.84 miles while shorthanded ranked third. The 30-year-old reached the 90th percentile or better for a one-game distance of 4.52 miles on Dec. 14 and a one-period total of 1.60 miles on Oct. 9.
Sanheim also registered 104 speed bursts above 20 mph, placing him in the 95th percentile among defensemen.
Jamie Drysdale, another member of Philadelphia’s top four, set a career high with eight goals. He finished tied for seventh among NHL defensemen with seven bursts above 22 mph, ranked eighth with 142 bursts over 20 mph and placed seventh with a top speed of 23.51 mph.
Tippett was Philadelphia’s fastest forward. His 61 bursts above 22 mph ranked second in the NHL, his 388 bursts over 20 mph ranked third, and his top speed of 23.97 mph was 10th in the League.
After the horn
The Flyers return most of the group that beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round before being swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.
Vladar’s emergence, Woll’s arrival, Martone’s early production and the club’s skating base give Philadelphia reasons to believe its spring run was more than a brief hot streak. The next step is turning improved goaltending and rush pressure into a more reliable attack, especially on the power play and at 5-on-5.
SEO Title: Philadelphia Flyers 2026-27 notebook: Dan Vladar, Joseph Woll and Porter Martone
SEO Description: Dan Vladar’s standout goaltending, Joseph Woll’s arrival, Porter Martone’s high-danger scoring and Philadelphia’s team speed shape the Flyers’ 2026-27 outlook.
