Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella seems to think goaltending is his team's biggest mystery box heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
"We have a whole new goaltending situation this year," he told reporters Tuesday. "It scares the crap out of me, because ... it's (Samuel Ersson)'s first time really being the guy. As much as I love him mentally, I don't know how that all works out.
"So we can't get ahead of ourselves here. I love where the organization is going, I think guys have improved, but we've got some hurdles to figure out here, especially with our goaltending, because it's a whole different landscape to start a new regular season."
Five goaltenders played for Philadelphia in 2023-24. The Flyers ranked last in the NHL with a .895 save percentage at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
| Goalie | GP | Record | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Ersson | 51 | 23-19-7 | .890 | 2.82 |
| Carter Hart | 26 | 12-9-3 | .906 | 2.80 |
| Cal Petersen | 5 | 2-2-0 | .864 | 3.90 |
| Felix Sandstrom | 5 | 1-2-0 | .823 | 3.87 |
| Ivan Fedotov | 3 | 0-1-1 | .811 | 4.95 |
Ersson was pushed into the starting role as a rookie after Carter Hart was granted a leave of absence in January and subsequently charged with sexual assault, along with three other members of Canada's 2018 world junior team.
Ivan Fedotov seems primed to serve as Ersson's running mate after making his NHL debut in April. He re-signed with Philadelphia for two years at a cap hit of $3.275 million later that month.
Adding to the uncertainty is how 2021 third-rounder Aleksei Kolosov, who's also in the mix at training camp, fits into the picture. Tortorella said he has "no idea."
"I have other things to worry about than that," he said. "That's why we have (goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh). I'm more concerned about (Ersson) and Fedotov as we get later in exhibition to make sure they're ready to go."
Although the Flyers fell four points outside of a wild-card spot last season thanks to an ill-timed eight-game skid, Tortorella said his current messaging doesn't include any playoff talk.
"I don't look that far ahead," he said.
He added: "We are still building. ... It's hockey speak, 'We're here to win a Stanley Cup.' I don't believe in that. We have so much shit to do with our team before we even start talking about that stuff."
Tortorella continued: "I don't give a shit what people think. Everybody thinks you need to say, 'This is the goal,' and that's where you lose sight of how to build a hockey club as far as I'm concerned."
Philadelphia opens its regular season next Friday against the Vancouver Canucks.