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Carter Hart Set To Prove He Can Be Top Goaltender For Flyers

By Ariel Melendez

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 21: Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the first period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on January 21, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 21: Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the first period against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on January 21, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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There is no sugarcoating anything right now. The Flyers played their last game of the season on Monday night. There would be no playoffs to follow. It was a year of underachievement after an expectation of more.

One of the themes of the day involved a focus on the team’s younger players. Aside from Joel Farabee, as Chuck Fletcher said, either plateaued or took a step back this season. With the amount of talent the Flyers have grown over the years, it is mystifying that almost all of those players did not take a step forward. The biggest of them being Carter Hart.

Hart played a big role in the team making it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals a season ago. His 2.23 GAA and .923 SV% in the postseason for the Flyers within a game of the ECF. That had followed a 2.42 GAA and a .914 SV% during the regular season. His GAA had improved greatly from his rookie season. And then the pandemic hit.

While that is not an excuse as the entire league dealt with it, it did hit Hart hard this year. He talked, on multiple occasions, on how the limited social interaction weighed on him throughout the season. And the numbers reflect a goaltender that was clearly going through something. He went 9-11-5 in 27 games. Now team record isn’t necessarily a reflection of the goaltender. But the rest of his stats show the struggles.

Among goaltender to appear in a similar amount of games, his GAA (3.67) was the highest. His SV% (.877) was the worst. He gave up four or more goals 13 times. He was pulled in four of his starts.

The lack of practice time played a role as well. With less time to work on things, there were parts of Hart’s game that slipped as the schedule condensed. An injury in mid-April ended his season early as well. It turned out to be a sprained MCL in his left knee. Things got worse over time and the team decided to shut him down for the rest of the year.

During his exit interview, Hart expressed how grateful he was to be able to be around his teammates as the season wound down. So it is possible to say the global pandemic did affect him harder than others.

Hart has the belief of the organization that he can and will be better. Kevin Hayes said it best, they believe he will be one of the best goaltenders in the league next year. Alain Vigneault mentioned Hart has all of the tools to become a solid goaltender in the league. Even Fletcher expressed confidence in his goaltender.

But the most important belief came from the young goaltender himself.

"“I believe in myself and I believe I can be a top goaltender in this league. I’m just looking forward to a great off-season of training, get settled back in with my family and friends and get a good plan going forward for this off-season.”"

Hart is still a young goaltender in this league, which is why there is not much concern that he will not be able to turn things around next season. Now healthy, the onus is on Hart to use this off-season to work on the areas of his game that slipped during the season. With the confidence around him from the organization, there is a strong belief we will see a much improved Carter Hart next season.

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