Anthony Stolarz, with a lot to prove, among Flyers' qualified RFAs

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VOORHEES, N.J. — Anthony Stolarz is still very much a part of the Flyers' organization. 

So is Alex Lyon.

Both players received qualifying offers Monday from the Flyers. Teams have until 4 p.m. Monday to tender qualifying offers to their restricted free agents. The move is more procedural than anything so teams still retain negotiating rights.

In all, the Flyers tendered six players — a group that also includes defenseman Robert Hagg and forwards Taylor Leier, Tyrell Goulbourne and Danick Martel. As expected, the organization did not extend a qualifying offer to Petr Mrazek, who will now hit the free-agent market on July 1.

If a player rejects the qualifying offer, they still remain a restricted free agent and their rights are retained by the Flyers.

However, the Flyers weren’t about to lose a young prospect with nothing in return, so in all likelihood, Stolarz and Lyon will be with the organization when training camp opens in September. The goaltending situation is perhaps the most intriguing with four netminders with NHL experience along with highly-prized prospect Carter Hart joining the mix in 2018-19.

“It’s just competition. No one is going to go in there and hand you a job, so you have to earn it,” Stolarz said Monday. “I think the thing for me is to prove I’m healthy. I don’t think I’ve skated since the end of January. I had the one flare up before one of my games and it had nothing to do with my knee injury. It was a separate injury. I think the biggest thing is proving I’m healthy and going out there and working to prove I’m still a high-caliber goalie.”

Stolarz went through a rigorous workout Monday at the Flyers Skate Zone and even took shots from defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. He doesn’t see the knee injury derailing his offseason following last summer’s surgery to repair the meniscus tear that required months of rehab.

Now, the 2012 second-round pick, who was actually selected higher than Hart was, can prove why he was such a valued commodity coming out of the draft six years ago. 

“I definitely think I’m still an NHL-caliber goalie,” Stolarz said. “I think with my size and quickness, it’s two attributes that you don’t see too often — guys like Pekka Rinne and Ben Bishop. I think the biggest thing with me is, just proving I can stay healthy.

“Taking that year off at first took a toll on me mentally and it hit me hard, but as the year went on, I was able to watch some Flyers games and watch some goalies and take some things from other goalies and incorporate them into my game.”

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