Can Brian Elliott Prosper with Flyers?

By Matt Mastrogiovanni, Sports Talk Philly staff writer

It's hard to predict the immediate future of the Flyers, especially when it pertains to the goalies. This upcoming season will see a new duo in town. Returning is Michael Neuvirth, back for his third season in the Orange and Black, while Brian Elliott is the newcomer to the tandem.

Elliott was signed to a two-year deal when the free-agency period opened in July.

We've seen Neuvirth play well fairly since he came to Philadelphia, yet he has been plagued with some significant injuries. With that being said, let's take a closer look at the newcomer Elliott and see what he can bring to the table.

Elliott has been one to stick around. He spent four seasons with Ottawa and five with St. Louis. He's also bounced around to Colorado and Calgary, but only for a single season with each of those squads.

The veteran goaltender has also had pretty solid numbers over the years. In his last 91 starts, Elliott has won 49 games bringing his winning percentage to a modest 53 percent. His career goals against average is 2.42 with a save percentage of .913. For a goalie nearing the possible back-end of his career, those stats are promising.

Also, sharing the load with a usually consistent Neuvirth could help in the long-run of the season. Elliott has frequently been a part of tandems in the past, so sharing the net with Neuvirth isn't something that will be an issue with the veteran goaltender.

With a short-term contract situation, it's difficult to say whether or not Elliott will stick around in Philadelphia when his term expires. After all, the Flyers have a strong prospect pipeline when it comes to goaltenders.

Anthony Stolarz, Alex Lyon, Carter Hart and Felix Sandstrom are considered the top goaltender prospects in the organization by many and have shown great potential in their current respective leagues. Having so much talent in the future could spell out a short yet prosperous stint for Elliott in a Flyers uniform.

The Flyers goaltending situation has long since been a toss-up. With many signings, injuries and rotations over the past few seasons, goaltending is a hot topic in Flyers discussion.

As a new season approaches, there are high hopes for the new duo in town. Will Elliott make his mark on Flyers history or will he just be another stop on the road to finding a franchise goalie? Only time will tell.

Podcast