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