This morning, news broke that the Flyers were re-signing young goaltender Carter Hart. It was only a matter of time before the two sides agreed on a contract, with newly signed Martin Jones penciled in as his backup.
The terms on this deal are reportedly three years for around $4 million per year ($3.979). At the end of these three years, Hart will be around 26 years old and entering his prime years. If he can at least return to his 2019-20 form and build from there, this deal could end up being fairly team-friendly one.
Also, you might be wondering, “That cap hit of $3.979 is a strange number, what’s up with that?” It appears it could be a nod to the #79 Hart dons.
Well, thankfully, there is good reason to believe this upcoming campaign will be considerably better than last year’s. Adding a steadying force like Ryan Ellis next to Ivan Provorov will surely help. Considering Ellis is a markedly better player than Matt Niskanen was two seasons ago, you would expect improvement. I’m sure Rasmsus Ristolainen is eager to prove he is better than Buffalo made him look. The projected third pairing of Keith Yandle and Justin Braun provide a ton of experience as well.
I have seen people on Twitter posting screenshots of Hart’s stats from last season, stating this deal is not a good one. That would be a record of 9-11-5 in 27 total games, with a poor .877 SV% and a 3.67 GAA. I would agree, if I didn’t actually watch the entire Flyers team struggle in front of him. All signs point to a bounce-back season in Carter Hart’s fourth year.
Prior to the debacle that was last season, Hart posted a 40-24-13 record with a .914 SV% as a 21 year old. He then posted a 9-5 record in the playoffs with a .926 SV%. The potential is obvious.
With the re-signing of Hart, the Flyers’ last big priority is to resign RFA Travis Sanheim. The front office elected arbitration with Sanheim, and the two parties are still trying to come to an agreement before that time comes. The Flyers have $4.031 million in cap space remaining, and Sanheim’s expiring deal was a two year $3.25 million per season.
The current arbitration date for Sanheim is August 26, stay tuned for more Flyers news!