Is Flyers goaltender Carter Hart worth trading for?

Who is Carter Hart? And is he the answer for any NHL team in need of a goaltending upgrade?

Great questions. And I don’t think it ends there.

Is Hart the goaltending phenom who burst onto the NHL scene with the Philadelphia Flyers midway the 2018-19 season? Or just another mid-pack goaltender that will always leave fans wanting more?

Stop and think for a second: if the Flyers had been any good defensively the past few seasons, would these questions even need to be asked? I doubt it. Because Hart has all the talent in the world. He just needs a decent, responsible team in front of him.

Expectations have been a heavy burden for Hart. Drafted 48th overall by Philadelphia in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the Alberta-born netminder came into 2018-19 training camp with all kinds of promise.

In his final two years of junior hockey, Hart was named CHL goaltender of the year. Comparisons were made to Carey Price. But the Flyers – led by then-GM Ron Hextall – were determined to let Hart develop in the AHL. Philadelphia didn’t want to put their top goaltending prospect behind the eight-ball to start his NHL career. Not at 20-years old.

But injuries to the team’s NHL goaltenders derailed the plan, and Hart was promoted to the Flyers late in the 2018 calendar year. Hart was outstanding, compiling a 16-13-1 record along with a .917 save percentage in 31 appearances.

During that same time, Philadelphia plucked me off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks in early January of 2019. Suddenly I was Hart’s backup. And I got to see magic first-hand from the bench for more than a month. He was incredibly focused. Technically solid. I could tell all the tools were there.

But I had a lingering sense that he needed to loosen up. Hart was so serious and afraid to deviate from his routine.

Funny story. The first day I showed up in Philly, I needed a ride from the hotel to the arena. And since we were staying at the same place in Voorhees, NJ, the team asked Carter to give me a lift. He declined. He didn’t like other people in the car on game days.

A 20-year old rookie less than a month into his NHL career refused to give a lift to a 35-year old veteran of more than 1,000 professional games.

I just laughed. It was his choice. He was the starting goaltender.

But I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression. Carter was a great teammate. I enjoyed being his goalie partner, and it was fun to see a young talent come into his own on the big stage. He just didn’t want anyone in the car with him. And that’s fine – he was doing everything he thought was right to prepare.

But to me, it was a glimpse into the hyper-focused psyche of a goaltender groomed for stardom from a young age. I worried that he was unable to leave the game at the rink. Or that he would be entirely consumed by expectations and risk flaming out early in his career.

Hart made it through the 2019-20 season without any problem. He posted a .917 save percentage and played 14 games of Stanley Cup playoff hockey. To say Hart was on a meteoric rise to elite status would not be out of line.

But then, during the 2020-21 season, the bottom fell out. Hart won only nine of 25 starts. His save percentage plummeted to .877 while he struggled to regain confidence. From the outside looking in, his game was spiralling. 

Up until that point – from junior hockey through pro – Hart had been a winning machine. He’d only known success. And truth be told, I actually think the adversity that he faced during the 2019-20 season was good for him.

I look back at the toughest moments of my career and know they made me better. One great example: I had a miserable 2010-11 season in the New Jersey Devils organization. My numbers looked like a credit card. They were so bad that I was really nervous about getting another contract. I thought my career might have been over.

That summer, I put the gear away for three months and focused on things outside of hockey. I got away from the sport and enjoyed my time off. And I carried that mindset into the 2011-12 season with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. I ended up having a great year and was able to play professionally for seven more seasons.

The reason I mention that story is because I think Hart has done a tremendous job of rebounding since that disastrous, COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. 

I have no doubt he looked inward on how he could improve his own processes. Hart’s .906 save percentage over the past two seasons may not be eye-catching. But keep in mind the team in front of him was a disjointed mess. The fact that the Flyers blew through three head coaches in that same time span says it all.

Things started to get back on track for Hart during the 2021-22 season. His performance was up and down, no doubt, but Hart finished 29th in moneypuck.com’s goals saved above expected rankings among goalies that played 30 or more games.

And that’s when I started to see a turn. Hart looked like he was having more fun. Maybe even a little carefree. And when the Flyers brought in head coach John Tortorella for the 2022-23 season, I expected Hart to get right back into the upper echelon of NHL netminders.

First the first half of the season, he was. And then the wheels fell off in Philadelphia once again, with Hart often being the only player performing at a high level.

Eventually the Flyers’ poor play in front of him caught up, and Hart’s season-ending numbers once again looked pedestrian. He finished last season with a .907 save percentage and allowed just under three goals per game.

But it’s the advanced metrics that make me bullish on Hart. He finished the year 15th in goals saved above expected. And Hart appeared in 54 games – a new high for the 6-foot-2 netminder. To me, it was the first season in which Hart could be counted on over the entirety of an NHL season to be the Flyers’ backbone.

It’s also the reason why Hart’s name has come up in trade chatter around the NHL. It’s not often a potential franchise goaltender becomes available at just 24 years of age. With just one season remaining on his contract valued at $3.979 million annually, Hart could be a steal. Especially considering he’ll be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.

If Hart gets traded, the team receiving him won’t be doing it for a one-year rental. It would be for his services well into the future. And I think there are a handful of franchises that would benefit.

Los Angeles. Pittsburgh. Edmonton. Carolina. To name a few. All would make plenty of sense as landing spots for Hart. And I think he would do well in any of those cities.

Why am I certain? Because Hart is one of the most technically proficient goaltenders in hockey. With a solid team around him that minimizes cross-ice passes and rushes against, Hart’s skating would get him square to almost every shot faced. And when he arrives early, he’s successful.

My only hangup with Hart’s game is that I think he’s a little over-reliant on post-integrations. He has a tendency to go down early and linger in reverse VH when he should recover to his feet quicker. And especially in the past, I believe Hart’s preference of tracking down on the puck stifled hand speed. He can be beat clean up high when he defaults to butterflying rather than reacting.

But those are just a few gripes. I’d much rather have a technical savant like Hart than a goaltender that plays by the seat of his pants. For years, Carey Price was the gold standard of structure. Every goalie coach showed his clips to students. Today, that’s Hart. He, along with a few other goalkeepers under the age of 25, represent the next generation of precise goaltending.

Hart is exactly the type of netminder that goalie coaches want to share the ice with. He works. He’s extremely dedicated to the craft. And Hart has yet to reach his ceiling.

Which is exactly why I don’t think the Flyers should trade him. But hey, they’re rebuilding. So why not, I guess. The last time Philadelphia got rid of a young talent in the crease it worked out fine, right?

Someone call Sergei Bobrovsky.