Philadelphia Flyers: 3 Trade Destinations for Carter Hart

The Philadelphia Flyers made their first big move of the offseason Tuesday afternoon when they traded Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but reports suggest Carter Hart could be the next big domino to fall before the draft. 

Carter Hart appears to be at a crossroads for the first time in his pro career – Hart is not an old goalie by any means, but the potential franchise netminder no longer fits the Philadelphia Flyers’ rebuild timeline. The same can be said for Ivan Provorov, who was drafted only one year before Hart. Provorov yielded an impressive haul for new Flyers GM Daniel Briere, and it is expected that Hart can bring even more back to Philly, given that dependable, young goaltenders are much harder to find than second-pairing defensemen.

The Edmonton Oilers might know this better than any team in the NHL. Ken Holland and the Oilers sought to plug their biggest weakness – leaky goaltending – in 2022, and it worked for the most part. 24-year old Stuart Skinner emerged as a regular season hero, posting a 29-14-5 record and usurping the starting role from struggling veteran Jack Campbell. Campbell, who signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Oilers in the offseason, posted a paltry 0.888 save percentage across 34 regular season starts. In the playoffs, their performances were reversed. In 12 playoff starts, Skinner went 5-6-0 with a 0.883 save percentage, while Campbell posted a 0.961 save percentage in four relief appearances. Just like that, the Oilers are back to square one.

With the Oilers tethered to Campbell for another four seasons, Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers have another opportunity to wreak some major havoc. Ken Holland might be feeling the flames after another disappointing playoff exit, and the embattled GM might have the ammunition to make a desperate attempt to straighten out the back end. As the Flyers are still a ways away from competing, it could be smart to make another move like they did with Columbus and the Los Angeles Kings today.

In exchange for taking on Jack Campbell’s contract, and a star young goaltender in Carter Hart, Briere should be asking for Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, or both. Ken Holland has notoriously been an aggressive trader, and it might only take as much as Briere dangling the bait in the water for him to bite.

The Ottawa Senators were a complete disaster defensively and in net in the 2022-23 season, and after moving for Jakob Chychrun, Carter Hart could be the next piece to their puzzle.

The Sens had three goaltenders start 17 or more times in 2022-23, and started seven different goaltenders in total. Cam Talbot (age 35), Anton Forsberg (age 30), and Mads Sogaard (age 22) got the bulk of the workload, and only Forsberg posted a save percentage higher than 0.900. Talbot, who is a pending UFA, seems to be out of gas at this stage of his career, and Sogaard just isn’t ready for NHL competition yet.

The New Jersey Devils started seven different goaltenders in 2021-22, and after adding Vitek Vanecek, the team went from zero to hero, making it to the second round of the 2023 NHL Playoffs. While Carter Hart is certainly better than Vanecek, the Senators would be wise to draw inspiration from the Devils. Former Philadelphia Flyers superstar Claude Giroux is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, and the Senators are reportedly already seeking to cut ties with Alex DeBrincat after a disappointing season. While their window is open, the Sens should have a no-nonsense policy about securing reliable goaltending.

The Senators don’t have picks in the first three rounds of this year’s draft, but they do have several expendable prospects to make Daniel Briere and the Flyers consider an offer. Defenseman Tyler Kleven is stuck behind Thomas Chabot, Chychrun, and 2020 fifth-overall pick Jake Sanderson on the left side of the defense. The same can be said for Erik Brannstrom, while Jacob Bernard-Docker hasn’t been able to crack the Sens lineup on the right side of the defense either. Perhaps Briere considers his former teammate Brian Boucher’s son, Tyler, who was the 10th pick in the 2021 draft. Despite the lack of draft picks, the Senators are still more than capable of producing a sweet offer for Carter Hart.