Vladar Discussion

[Finger Cookin]

We could do better, we could do worse. He's adequate and gets along with this roster.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Vladar isn't as technically strong as some other goalies out there, but he has size to help him out.

A positive with Dan that sets him apart from past backups that have come and gone is he is a resilient goalie. He might have a subpar period, but he can bounce back the next period and shut the door.

That's what I like most about him. He's salvaged a number of games that started going off the rails and secured points as a result, or at least stopped the bleeding so the team could claw back into it.

With a lot of other goalies, if they're not feeling it, that's generally how the rest of the game will go. Dan can pull it together quickly and not let a couple bad goals go to his head.

His first 4 months of this season were rough. Probably on the poor end of his overall body of work, but appears that with practice and reduced starts he's got himself dialed in again in recent weeks and looks like he can be a .900 type of backup again who can occasionally punch above his weight.

If he's looking for a sizeable raise, I wouldn't gamble too much on him. But if he can settle for something reasonable over a shorter term contract, then do it.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

People said this when he re-upped to be the backup to Markstrom.

The guy is a beaut, I hope he stays.

I hope he stays as well. However, it was easier for him to extend with Calgary under Markstrom since Markstrom was not a spring chicken, and there was a path towards becoming a starter. Now with Wolf stepping ahead of him on that path, it probably makes more sense to go to a team with either a weaker starter, or an older starter. If I was Vladar, I probably wouldn't want to re-sign on a team when the team has clearly stated that Wolf is the starter. As I said, I do hope he stays as I think he is really good with more upside.


I say more upside as he is clearly improving, even though he has had sporadic starts in some tough situations. I don't think he is far off from being a competent 1B, with room to grow into a starter. Looking back at the last 10+ years of backups, I think Vladar has easily been better than any backup, and probably better than a fair amount of starters this team burned through since Kiprusoff retired. I think if I combine starters+backups and rank them since Kiprusoff's retirement, I would say 1. Markstrom 2. Wolf (though approaching Markstrom already IMO, which is wild) 3.??? Ramo for me probably 4. Vladar?



Maybe Elliott had a strong string of consistency at times, but he would fall hard. Ditto for Smith. I am sure I may be forgetting someone since this is completely off the top of my head. I just don't see Vladar very far from the top of the list of goalies employed by the Flames in the last... 15(?) years? Especially since this is undoubtedly the weakest defence employed throughout that entire time, plus his deployment has been difficult - back-to-backs, tougher match-ups for the most part (especially in the first half), and he was still getting back into the groove after hip surgery too.



Like I said, I think he goes elsewhere, but I really believe Vladar is a good backup now, and arguably on the verge of getting into that 1B threshold for me, and I really believe he has 1A upside if he just cleans up his game a little bit. I see a development arc with him, rather than the readout of an electrocardiogram of someone with a heart arrhythmia.

[dissentowner]

I imagine Vladar will go to free agency and see if there is a spot where he can see a future as having a shot at the #1 job at some point in the near future. If that doesn't present itself I can see him back here on a short term deal.

[robertsfanatic]

for similar money he can stay but if not the grab Lyon as a back-up.

[Goriders]

The Flames are going to have to spend some money in the next year or two to stay above the cap floor. I wouldn’t be opposed to them spending some of it on Vladar and a forward who can put the puck in the net.

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

Shouldn't you be comparing backups to other backups.

If you look at a sample size that gives you 64 goaltenders you're looking at all starters and all backups.

If give the top 32 spots to starters, then a ranking near 40 is an above average backup.

[gvitaly]

Originally Posted by Goriders

The Flames are going to have to spend some money in the next year or two to stay above the cap floor. I wouldn’t be opposed to them spending some of it on Vladar and a forward who can put the puck in the net.

I don't think there are many such forwards available. Here are the UFA forwards with over 20 goals so far this season:

Player    Age POS SH  G
Tavares   34  C   L   27
Duchene   34  RW  L   26
Donato    28  C   L   23
Bennett   28  C   L   22
Ehlers    29  LW  L   22
Marchand  36  LW  L   21
Marner    27  RW  R   21
Roslovic  28  C   R   21
Palmieri  34  RW  R   21
Nelson    33  C   L   20
Boeser    28  RW  R   20
Suter     28  C   LW  20

I think the Flames would have better luck chasing a LD in the off-season. Also if the Flames have plenty of capspace then they could potentially offer one of Allen or Andersen more money on a 1 yr deal with the intention to flip him at the deadline.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

I don't think there are many such forwards available. Here are the UFA forwards with over 20 goals so far this season:

Player    Age POS SH  G
Tavares   34  C   L   27
Duchene   34  RW  L   26
Donato    28  C   L   23
Bennett   28  C   L   22
Ehlers    29  LW  L   22
Marchand  36  LW  L   21
Marner    27  RW  R   21
Roslovic  28  C   R   21
Palmieri  34  RW  R   21
Nelson    33  C   L   20
Boeser    28  RW  R   20
Suter     28  C   LW  20

I think the Flames would have better luck chasing a LD in the off-season. Also if the Flames have plenty of capspace then they could potentially offer one of Allen or Andersen more money on a 1 yr deal with the intention to flip him at the deadline.

There are only 15 players with 30 or more goals this season though

Tavares is 25th in the league from the above list

[Kipper_3434]

I would be fine with Vladar coming back solely because we are still in rebuild mode and he seems to only bring his A game for like 5 games a season.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by robertsfanatic

for similar money he can stay but if not the grab Lyon as a back-up.

A Lyon and Wolf in net... make it so.

I like Vladar, but that is almost too good to pass up.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

A Lyon and Wolf in net... make it so.

Then you have ‘Bison’ Coronato up front, and it starts to look like the makings of a pretty good zoo. Ethan Bear is UFA this summer, too. What's Tiger Williams up to these days?