2. Brian Elliott
Second on this list is current Flyers’ back-up Brian Elliott.
The Newmarket, Ontario native has been with Philadelphia for the past four seasons, and has served as one of the better 1B options in the league over that span.
The Flyers initially inked Elliott to a two-year, $5.5 million deal in July 2017, with the intention of him playing as a starter. During the 2017-18 campaign, he played the part, suiting up for just over half of the season, while posting a 23-11-7 record to go along with a .909 SV% and a 2.66 GAA.
As we all know, however, the Flyers’ goaltending situation immediately went downhill after that year.
During the 2018-19 season, Philadelphia dressed a total of eight different netminders throughout the season, trying to find some stability between the pipes. Despite the uncertainty, Elliott still managed to suit up for 26 games, solidifying his new 1B role behind up-and-coming prospect Carter Hart.
The veteran netminder continued to play well over the next two seasons, and ended up playing in at least 30 games for both years, including the most recent pandemic-shortened 56-game campaign. His numbers weren’t stellar over those two years, as indicated by his .894 SV% and 2.97 GAA, but he was still able to secure 16 and 15 wins respectively, which is exactly what the Canucks would be looking for behind Demko.
Like Halak, Elliott was also forced to step up in relief this past year, ultimately reclaiming the starting role after Hart continued to struggle. Elliott ended up playing in 22 of Philadelphia’s final 38 regular season games.
Given Philadelphia’s instability between the pipes over the past few years, General Manager Chuck Fletcher might be eyeing another contract extension for Elliott. However, if the Flyers can’t resign the 36-year-old, he should definitely be one of the frontrunners for the Canucks to seriously pursue during free agency, as long as the price is right.