Philadelphia fans finally thought the team had found the goaltender of the future in Carter Hart after he carried the team on his back last season all the way to the brink of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. It seems, though, that the Flyers have reverted back to their old ways this season of not offering any support for their goaltenders: Blown coverages, inability to clear the front of the net, the forwards not back checking, etc. It’s like the Flyers have left their netminders to have to fend for themselves.
This is evident by the drastic increase in their young goaltending prodigy’s numbers this season compared to last. In 43 appearances in the regular season last year, Hart was able to win 24 of those outings while averaging a 2.42 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .914 save percentage (SV%). Come last year’s post season his numbers got even better: In 14 playoff games last year, Carter was able to prove that his play could definitely live up to the hype that came with him when the Flyers selected him as the first goaltender taken in the 2nd round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He won nine of the 14 playoff games he played in last season while posting a 2.23 GAA and an incredible .926 SV%. With such a phenomenal sophomore season now under his belt I think most fans, teammates, and Flyers management alike thought that Hart was going to continue to make huge strides in his development and continue on his way to becoming one of the NHL’s elite netminders.
But, unless you’re Dominik Hasek, it does not matter how good you are or how mentally prepared you think you are; A goaltender can only be as good as the defense in front of him! With the early departure of Matt Niskanen, and some foolishly rushed decisions on who to sign back and/or bring in to replace him this off season, the state of the Flyers’ defensive core took a huge step backwards. Hart (and Elliott’s) numbers have obviously suffered this season. With Carter being just 22 years old, his talents (up to this point) have never allowed him to know failure. In saying that, this young goaltender- who was once praised for his unheard-of sense of maturity, extreme preparation, and deep-rooted emphasis he put into his concentration- has been rattled. Understandably flustered by his poor play this season, Hart has let the pressure get to him. This has led to having to be labeled a healthy scratch at times this season just to get him some time to clear his head after seeing his goals against average increase by more than a goal a game from last season (now at 3.67 GAA) and his save percentage reaching an all-time low (now at a .877 SV%)! Needless to say, things this season have not gone quite as this pending restricted free agent would have hoped. Hart is not playing the same way he did last season: He is in his head and is reacting out of frustration to plays, dropping down to the butterfly way too early, overreacting to plays that span the length of the crease, and missing simple glove saves that he would have had no problem making the season before.
But what should the Flyers look to do this off season? Clearly the team will sign him back with the hopes that he can right these wrongs and return to the form they know he can play at and continue to grow into their future franchise goaltender. However. Should they sign him to a lengthy extension now, with the hopes that they might be able to retain him for a lesser price coming off this horrific season? Or, should they try and talk him into signing a 2 or 3 year “prove it” deal, negating any long-term commitment (if Hart does not find his game again) that would not place them back into the same cap hell as when they went all-in on Ilya Bryzgalov- signing him to a 9-year $51 Million dollar contract (that they are still to this day having to pay $1.6 million a season for Ilya to not play for them)?
Then, there’s the question of who is going to be the team’s back up next season? Although his numbers might not reflect it, Brain Elliott has stepped up during Hart’s recent falters; But at this point he should not be considered a number one goalie anymore with a goals-against-average the past three seasons of nearly three goals a game and a save percentage of just .900 or less for those three seasons as well (while playing a backup’s schedule of teams). Next season he will be 37 years old, and therefore should not be asked to take on the brunt of the load again next season if Hart continues to struggle.
The team must move on from Elliott and bring in someone much younger who will cause Hart to realize his job as a starter may not be such a guarantee anymore. Much like the competition he saw in his last season playing for the Everett Silvertips, where he had the more-than-capable goaltender Dustin Wolf (now of the Calgary Flames organization) playing behind him just waiting for Hart to slip up. Once Carter left town, Wolf was able to follow in Hart’s footsteps by winning the Del Wilson Trophy (award given to the WHL’s Top Goaltender) and his own World Juniors Championship (WJC) gold medal in 2020.
The type of competition that this writer is referring to is not going to cost the Flyers the type of money Montreal’s Carey Price and Jake Allen, or Robin Lehrer and Marc-Andre Fleury cost their teams, which is respectively over $12 million a season to retain them both. With Hart’s regression the Flyers should have the cap space to be able to bring in a younger, more formidable backup seeing that they most likely will not have to spend nearly as much as they once thought on Carter’s next contract. A closer model of what this writer is referring to is that of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have the duo of the 27-year-old Elvis Merzlikins, and 26-year-old Joonas Korposalo sharing the net. Or Pittsburgh’s 25-year-old Tristan Jerry and 29-year-old Casey Desmith. All players mentioned are capable of performing in a starting role when the other is seeing a rough patch.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a couple of goaltenders who are going to be available, who are both capable and affordable enough, and who COULD replace the aging Elliott and be a 1B option next season if Hart has still not returned to form. First up is the pending unrestricted free agent Chris Driedger of the Florida Panthers. Chris is 26 years old and is currently playing the part of that 1B option for the Panthers this year. This 6’4 208-pound guardian of the blue paint has (at times) even outshined his 2-time Vezina Trophy-winning partner Sergei Bobrovski (who makes $10 million a season). Driedger is averaging a 2.09 GAA and a .927 SV% on the season so far and his exceptional play this year has helped his team to remain locked in a tie with the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Central Division. With that being said, Chris will undoubtedly be looking for a new place to call home next season. One where he might be able to compete for a starting role. Between Bobrovsky being signed for another five years still at $10 million dollars a year, the Panthers ‘19 1st round draft pick goalie Spencer Knight who just picked up his first win as a professional in his NHL debut, and Florida selecting possibly the most underrated player and biggest steal in last year’s draft in goalie Devon Levi in the 7th round (who this writer was extremely high on and suggested the Flyers draft, and who went 6-1-0 with 3 shutouts at the last WJC while managing to record an astonishing 0.75 GAA and a .964 SV% in the process), there’s no room for him in Florida. Therefore, with such a large sum of money already being paid to Bob, and such a wealth of promising options nearing NHL stardom, there simply is no reason why Florida should have to overindulge, shelling out more money than necessary to Driedger in order to bring him back next season. So, therein lines the Flyers’ opportunity to bring in a goalie who would be able to spark some real competition in Hart and, at the same time, bring some much-needed reassurance in the process. Driedger made just $850,000 towards the cap this season, and with the fact that he has yet to even play 40 games total in the NHL in his career, even if Philadelphia were to double his salary next season the Flyers should still be able to retain Hart and Chris for well under what most teams pay their number one goalie per season.
If the Flyers cannot manage to obtain Dredger’s services for next season they should not go out and overspend on the vast majority of other unrestricted free agent goalies available. Most on the list for next season are either coming off of injuries (like Anders Nilsson) or are just a bunch of over-the-hill guys and/or “never was” type players. The Flyers made a huge mistake in not signing their 2015 7th round selection Ivan Fedotov. This now 24-year-old 6’8 203-pound colossal netminder has been excelling in the KHL since being drafted. Over parts of the last four seasons playing in the second greatest league in the world, Fedotov has shined-posting some of the league’s best numbers while playing for the Traktor Chelyabinsk. To those who think that Ivan “The Great” would need time in the American Hockey League first before joining the Flyers, I beg to differ. Unlike the Flyers’ goalie prospect Kirill Ustimenko (who only played in the MHL level (AHL of Russia)) Ivan has exceled on one of the world’s highest stages of hockey. Need more persuasion? How about a list of young Russian goalies who made the trip over and are excelling early stateside? Alexandar Georgiev, and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers (both 25 years old), Ilya Samsonov of the Washington Capitals (24 years old). How about Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders (25 years old)? All of these young Russian goaltenders were molded in the KHL and are now exceeding expectations in the NHL. The Flyers should have signed this gargantuan Russian goaltender to an entry-level deal when they had the chance. With them dragging their feet, Fedotov has since agreed to go back to Russia for one more season. He might have just been the cheapest and best option for the Flyers next season. Instead, they just wasted yet another year of eligibility in which this young goaltender could have been here helping the team that drafted him.
So, with Fletcher dropping the ball and not signing Ivan, who then else could they turn to? How about an undrafted free agent goalie who has only been named as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award the past two seasons? That player’s name is Dryden McKay, a 23-year-old American-born goaltender who took Minnesota State University (Mankato) to the Final Four this season, posting a phenomenal 1.54 GAA with a .924 SV%. Additionally, he was able to tie his personal best from last season of 10 shutouts on the year. That’s not even his best season though: Last year McKay was able to attain 30 wins on the season while averaging a GAA of 1.31 and a SV% of .942. How this amazing backstop is still not inked to an NHL deal is beyond me, but Chuck would be wise to do so rather quickly. Signing this widely unknown prospect out of nowhere would be just the move Philadelphia needs to regain some stability between the pipes for next season. Dryden, like the Flyers’ Tanner Laczynski, Wade Allison, and soon-to-be Jackson Cates, is not someone coming from the junior ranks who is still yet a teenager. McKay is a young man who, at 23 years old, has been playing against men for some time now in the NCAA. Therefore, (in this goalie turned writer’s mind) it would not take him more than one training camp to be NHL-ready for next season. Yes, he is that good and will be seen in an NHL uniform and opening up some eyes rather soon. We can only hope that he is going to be doing it in a Flyers uniform.
The Flyers have to do something, and soon. They cannot sit on their hands and keep signing back Elliott and Lyon year after year. This is causing more talented prospects like Fedotov to sign elsewhere in the KHL (As the Flyers own indefinite rights on Fedotov) because there is no room here in Philadelphia. I’ve had enough of settling for “good enough”: It’s time that Fletcher makes a power move that will help to bring in a player who can help now and if need be, in the future. Hart is the Flyers’ future goaltender but if he does not get some defensive help and a formidable backup soon it may be too late. The Flyers have to better protect their assets and try to make moves that will not block the talent still coming. One of these two players should be in-net next season for the Flyers. At this point, the Flyers must have a guy on the roster next season who can step up if Carter continues to falter, for if they don’t fix what is now broken it just may be beyond repair before you know it.
