Flames' Vladar Drawing Interest From Rebuilding Team

Dan Vladar is set to hit free agency after serving as the backup goalie on the Calgary Flames for the past four seasons. His best season was his first and came as a 24-year-old, but he bounced back in a big way this season and teams will show interest.

His time as a Flame has come to an end, but according to Frank Seravalli, the San Jose Sharks are believed to be interested in Vladar ahead of free agency. The Sharks aren't keeping Alexandar Georgiev, but also want a goalie with experience to play alongside Yaroslav Askarov in 2025-26.

I think Vladar would be a great fit for the Sharks as he played 30 games this season in a tandem with Dustin Wolf. 17 of Vladar's 29 starts were quality starts. That is approaching the best group of goalies in the game. His off nights just hurt his numbers a bit more. The 27-year-old ended the season with a four-game win streak while posting a .932 SV%. He may have only had a .898 SV% on the season but he was 12-11-6 with two shutouts. He helped much more than he hurt the Flames this season.

If the Sharks land Vladar, I expect the contract to be at least two years and have an AAV of around $2.5 million. The future plans should have him as a backup to Askarov, but his role will be larger this season. It is smart of the Sharks to go after a goalie who should be around the sweet spot where many goalies figure it out. They could have a very serviceable goalie who can start around half of the games and give Askarov the support and opportunity to grow into a number one.