Carter Hart entered the 2019-20 season with some unknowns. Some questions were how would this young netminder handle the rigors of a full NHL season, or would he get rattled enough to just give up during a game if the wheels start falling off the bus? Valid questions, but it turns out Carter had a great season at just the ripe age of 21 and 22-years-old.
Hart had some downs, however, his season was mainly filled with ups. He was able to rid of some bad habits with cutting down angles, and making himself bigger in the net after working tirelessly with Kim Dillabaugh. Hart was just spectacular for the most part in just his first full season for the Flyers. He posted a 24-13-3 record, with a 2.42 GAA (8th best in the league), and a .914 Save Percentage. What more could one expect from a then 21-year-old in just his first full season in the NHL. At home he was lights out accumulating a 20-3-2 record, 1.63 GAA, and a .943 Save Percentage. Simply put, Hart proved he was the franchise Goaltender the Flyers have needed since President Reagan was in office, and the proof is in the pudding.
A lot of people love Hart for different reasons, it’s not always just how he performs on the ice, he’s just a good person. However, on the ice Hart kicked butt. In just his first playoffs he registered an 9-5 record, 2.20 GAA, and a .928 Save Percentage. Talk about taking your game to the next level.
“He was our best player in every game,” Jakub Voracek said following practice yesterday. Even in the losses Voracek said Hart was the Flyers best player. Voracek said they need to better, and one cannot blame him for saying that.
Hart had some time to reflect as he hasn’t seen game action since last Saturday in a 6-1 drubbing to the Boston Bruins. The young man in Hart said he has picked up the guitar again to take his mind off hockey. He has apparently turned literally into a rock star, “And I think the last couple of days in practice, I’ve been having fun with the boys and just competing and working hard,” Hart said following practice yesterday, “It’s also important to get away from the game, so I started picking up the guitar a little bit more again and playing that.” Even so much so he was trying to play “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins.
He is just one of the guys in the locker room. Hart really enjoys being around this club and they enjoy being around him, “You know what, since Day 1, since I came up last year, I felt that right from the beginning,” Hart said last year in the playoffs, “We have a really good group of guys here. We all gel really well together. We’re the kind of group where outside the rink we are always doing things together and having fun. I think that’s really important. For me as a younger guy, you feel like you are a part of the team right from the beginning. That’s special. When I came up there, my first two weeks, obviously I was very nervous. I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. Right from Day 1 since I got here, they’ve all made me feel like part of the group.”
