The Philadelphia Flyers have a pretty darn good goaltending tandem here, you guys. As rumored this morning, they’ve signed free agent goalie Michal Neuvirth to a two-year contract.
Flyers have signed goalie Michal Neuvirth to two-year deal, $1.5 M in Year 1 and $1.75 million in Year 2
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) July 1, 2015
That’s not a bad deal at all — $1.625 million against the cap per year. Fair value for a backup goalie who has the potential to be better than just a backup goalie. Neuvirth was a backup last year, and has been for most of his career, and he’s taking less money compared to the $2.5 million he made against the cap a year ago.
Make no doubt about it: Neuvirth will be Steve Mason’s backup. It’s a big upgrade over Ray Emery as backup though, and some believe that a better backup goalie could have put the Flyers in the playoff picture last season. Whether that’s true or not, upgrading the goaltending is always important, especially if Mason takes a step back from his unbelievable year a season ago.
