July 01, 2026

Dan Vladar's contract extension is official, re-ups with Flyers for five years

Vladar, after an excellent season that saw the Flyers break through into the playoffs, is getting five years at $5.5 million per.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

James Lang/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Dan Vladar contract extension is official.

Goaltender Dan Vladar signed his contract extension at free agency's opening on Wednesday, crossing off one of the Flyers' immediate offseason orders, and maybe the worst-kept secret in hockey.

Vladar received a five-year deal with a $5.5 million annual cap hit, which will keep him in Philadelphia through 2032, as the Athletic's Pierre LeBrun initially reported late last week and Vladar's agent, Dan Milstein, confirmed just ahead of free agency's opening at noon on Wednesday (and the Flyers' own announcement).

Dan Vladar. 5 years. Philadelphia Flyers.

He’s staying. Dan Vladar agreed to terms with the Flyers on a 5-year ($5.5mm AAV) extension. Philly’s net is in good hands. #LetsGoFlyers #WeAreGoldStar! pic.twitter.com/LrwfPcmqL8
— Dan Milstein (@HockeyAgent1) July 1, 2026

Vladar was signed to a two-year free-agent contract with the Flyers last summer, to which general manager Danny Brière said he would be coming into compete to be a No. 1 goaltender.

At the time, that statement was curious. But now, it seems near-prophetic.

Vladar never played more than 30 games before in his previous spots across Boston and then Calgary.

But then he got to the Flyers and took over to a career-best degree.

By last season's end, Vladar had started 51 games, posted a .906 save percentage, and carried a 2.42 goals against average and a 29-14-7 record, with the Flyers heavily leaning on him down the stretch for a playoff push.

They made it, with Vladar making that final save against Carolina in the shootout to snap a five-year drought. Then, once they were there in the postseason, he was a wall who, at minimum, gave the Flyers a chance from night to night.

#LetsGoFlyers sign Dan Vladar to a 5 year $5.5M cap hit

Yr 1: 3.2M Salary, 4.5M Signing Bonus
Yr 2: 1.425M/4.5M
Yr 3: 2.625M/2M
Yr 4-5: 4.625M

Full NMC Yr 1-2, 15 team M-NTC Yr 3, 10 team M-NTC Yr 4, 5 team M-NTC Yr 5

Deal starts 27/28

Rep'd by Dan Milstein @GoldStarHockey…
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 1, 2026

Vladar posted two shutouts in the first-round series win over the rival Penguins, which included a 42-save effort deep into overtime of the clinching Game 6.

Then in the second round against Carolina, even though they were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion, Vladar made 42, 31, and 40 saves in Games 2-4 to try and hold the Flyers' breakthrough season together for just a little longer.

But he was a huge reason they even got that far to begin with. Now the Flyers are betting on the 28-year-old being a stable answer in goal for the next several years, presumably – they hope – as a developing team gets better.

"He blew the expectations that we had on him," Brière said of Vladar after the playoffs. "Going into the season, I know you guys all wrote about that, or spoke about it, how he had never played more than 30 games in a season in the NHL. Obviously, that was a worry for us, and that's why we thought it was going to be a good tandem with [Sam Ersson], but he really took over and earned more starts."

"Because of the way he played in the playoffs, he didn't slow down, and he was just as good or even better in the playoffs," Brière added. "So that was really exciting to see. Yeah, it makes us believe that he could be the answer here for, hopefully, a few more years."