Ex-Flyers Goalie Suspended 15 Months, and Philadelphia Still Has No Backup Plan

The suspension was upheld Tuesday — 15 months — and for the Flyers, it's one more door closing on a goaltending depth problem the front office has not yet moved to solve. The ex-Flyer in question was already gone, but the confirmation removes him from any realistic consideration and makes a thin organizational depth chart a little thinner.

Dan Vladar is locked in. The five-year extension he signed after the playoffs settled that. Everything behind him is unsettled. The Flyers went through last season with effectively one netminder carrying a meaningful workload, and nothing in this offseason has changed that structure. The market has moved — Florida addressed its backup situation in late July — and Philadelphia has watched it move without acting.

Training camp is approaching. The Michkov contract situation has consumed most of the oxygen this offseason, and the forward injury cluster — Cates, Tippett, and Murchison all still out — has added to the noise. But the goaltending gap has been sitting here quietly the whole time. My read is that it's the least glamorous problem on the roster and probably the most urgent one to fix before October.