The Philadelphia Flyers have finished a bit of offseason work, signing Felix Sandstrom to a new two-year contract. The deal is two-way in 2022-23 and one-way in 2023-24, and includes an average annual value of $775K at the NHL level. The minor league netminder was set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer, had he not signed a new deal by July 13.
Perhaps it is unfair to call Sandstrom a minor league goalie now that he has made his NHL debut, entering five games for the Flyers this season. He, unfortunately, lost all five of those behind the struggling Flyers, but posted a reasonable .910 save percentage in the process and showed that he could be in contention for a backup role at some point in the near future.
That future could even come as soon as next season, depending on how things shake out this summer. Ivan Fedotov was recently signed out of the KHL but has no North American experience, and the team may want to go with a more veteran option given Carter Hart’s inconsistencies to this point. At very worst, Sandstrom is now an inexpensive depth option that has shown he can handle spot starts if necessary.
Notably, he is no longer waiver-exempt and will need to pass through them in order to be assigned to the minor leagues. That’s not something the team has dealt with previously, meaning if another club has their eyes on Sandstrom, he could be at risk if they want him in the AHL.