VOORHEES, N.J. – It took a bit of time but the Flyers got around to adding another goaltender to their roster.
At the very least, that had been their intention all along.
Shortly after the NHL free-agent signing period opened at 12 noon on Tuesday, the Flyers inked netminder Daniel Vladar to a two-year, $6.7-million contract with a $3.35-million AAV.
Aside from that, the Flyers continued their trend of adding centers and defensemen to their team.
The headline deal in that area was the one-year contract tendered to former Montreal center Christian Dvorak, who received a one-year, $5.4-million deal.
Also at center, the Flyer added Lane Pederson with a one-year, two-way deal worth $775,000.
On defense, free agents Dennis Gilbert received a one-year contract for $875,000 and Noah Juulsen got a one-year contract for $900,000.
General manager Daniel Briere sounded satisfied with the overall list of signings in a 4 p.m. press conference at the Flyers Training Center.
“We’re excited,” he said. “Because we made the team a little better and that’s the goal. We wanted the player to have something to chew on, that we’re a little more competitive. Now it’s up to the players.”
The Flyers wanted to keep the contracts short so that they will have more salary cap space looking down the road.
“We focused on 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 have to give in to entice those types of players to come in.
“We know the salaries are very competitive. But where it helps us, it keeps the flexibility moving forward in our favor.”
Vladar, 27, is a native of the Czech Republic.
He was selected by Boston in the third round (75th overall) in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. For the past four years he has played for the Calgary Flames, appearing in 100 games with a record 47-32-15. Including two seasons with Boston, he has a goals-against average of 2.98 and a save percentage of .895.
He should fit right into an open competition with starter Sam Ersson as well as backups Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov.
“First of all, he wanted to come to Philly,” Briere said. “We had discussions with a few other agents on different guys.”
But they wanted three-, four-, five-year contracts which was a no-go for the Flyers.
“Dan told us early on he saw this as an opportunity to come in and compete in Philadelphia,” Briere said. “So we jumped on it. There’s no perfect goalie out there but we feel he gives us a chance to compete with our group and push the envelope.
“He has a chance to become our No. 1.”
Vladar has never played more than 30 games in a season but Briere believes he can handle more than that.
Briere told all four goalies this season will be an open competition for playing time. No one is guaranteed anything.
“This wasn’t good enough last season,” Briere said. “All you guys are going to be in a battle. It was really clear, right from the get-go. We hope Vladar brings competition into the group and they have to fight for it.”
The general manager ruled out the possibility of trading for a goaltender. Other teams were just asking too much. “Way more than we were willing to pay,” Briere said.
Dvorak, 29, was taken by Arizona in the second round (58th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
He played five years for the Coyotes and more recently four years for the Montreal Canadiens.
In 534 games, he has produced 105 goals/249 points.
“I’m excited about him,” Briere said. “I think the enticing part for him, too, is the opportunities that he is going to have. It’s no secret we’re pretty thin in the middle. (Sean) Couturier, (Noah) Cates really are the only two for sure. We hope that (recently acquired from Anaheim) can play center as well. But there’s opportunities for him (Dvorak) more than he would have seen somewhere else. I think he makes us a better team down the middle.”
Dvorak played for Flyers new coach Rick Tocchet when the two were together in Arizona. That might have played into this decision as well.
“He (Tocchet) loves his overall game,” Briere said. “He’s a player that’s not going to hurt you defensively.”
Gilbert, 28, has played in 111 NHL games with Chicago, Colorado, Calgary, Buffalo and Ottawa. The Blackhawks took him with the 91st overall pick in the 2015 draft.
Juulsen, 28, was Montreal’s first-round (26th overall) pick in the 2015 draft.
The British Columbia native has played for the Canadiens, Florida and, for the past four seasons, Vancouver.
Briere said the key to signing both players was the short terms of their contracts. This will help create more salary cap space next season.
Both players stand well above six feet and that was somewhat important because regular D-man Rasmus Ristolainen is still recovering from a torn pectoral muscle and might not be ready for the start of the season.
>Foerster injury worsens
Flyers right wing Tyson Foerster suffered an elbow injury in the World Championships and things took a turn for the worse when he developed an infection. Upon his return to Philadelphia, doctors said surgery would be needed to clear out the infected area. Briere said the operation could impact the start of Foerster’s season.
The Flyers are waiting for test results to come back before opting to have Foerster go under the knife.
“We’re sitting and waiting right now to see if it’s serious or not,” Briere said.
>Short shots
Briere said the Flyers remain in the hunt for Russian free-agent forward Maxim Shabanov. It appears about four teams are vying for his services. Briere said he spoke to his agent on Tuesday. Expect a resolution shortly.
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