The Philadelphia Flyers locked up their franchise netminder for three more years, as Carter Hart signed a three-year contract with the team on Monday morning, per Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher. The contract runs through 2024 and carries an average annual value of $3,979,000 per season.
Hart, a left-handed catcher drafted in 2016 by Ron Hextall’s regime, is coming off a dismal 2020-21 season that perhaps cost him some extra money on his new deal. He sported a 9-11-5 record with an .877 save percentage, 3.67 goals against average, and one shutout in 27 appearances with Philadelphia.
There were some positives to take away from his season, though. After coming back from his time off the ice, Hart earned points in three of his five final games. Despite the 1-2-2 record, he posted a .910 SV% and a 2.31 GAA.
The 22 year-old Sherwood Park, Alberta native maintains a 49-37-9 record with a .905 SV%, 2.88 GAA, and two shutouts in 101 games played at the NHL level since his debut in December 2018.
Hart’s best season came in his first full campaign in 2019-20. Hart recorded a 24-13-3 record to accompany a .914 SV% and 2.42 GAA along with his first NHL shutout. Hart also made his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs that season, helping the Flyers clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference after winning the Round-Robin and led them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his first taste of postseason action. Hart maintained a 9-5 record along with a .926 SV%, 2.23 GAA, and two shutouts in 14 playoff games.
Hart also posted a remarkable 20-3-2 home record at Wells Fargo Center during the 2019-20 season to go along with a .943 SV% and 1.63 GAA, tied for tops among all goaltenders in the league.
Hart’s new contract leaves the Flyers with approximately $4,031,477 in cap space to re-sign restricted free agent Travis Sanheim. The Flyers elected to file for arbitration with the defenseman last Monday and will try to chip away at a potential deal with the remaining cap space they have.