Goaltender Carter Hart the Flyers’ 2016 2nd pick has developed into everything that the then General Manager Ron Hextall thought he would be, and although Hart is still just 22-year-old he has proved himself to be worthy of being treated like the other elite talents from around the league at his position.
Last season while most other people his age were still trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives (as they sat on the couch with a hangover eating cold pizza left over from the party, they had the night before). Carter was out just keeping busy dominating in the National Hockey League, winning 24 games during the shortened season (a number that was good enough to rank him 9th overall in the league in wins) and while doing that he managed to post a 2.42 goals against average (GAA) (which was good enough for 8th best in the league).
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If these numbers weren’t impressive enough, Hart’s love of playing in front of his adopted hometown crowd here in Philly will be; because while suiting up for games at the Flyers’ Wells Fargo Center last season Carter was able to win 80% of his starts while wearing his home team’s jersey! Posting an unbelievable .943 save percentage and a 1.63 GAA during those games.
Now with that being said you may think that Hart may have been in discussions for the leagues Vezina Trophy (award given every year to the league’s best goalie), but you would be mistaken. The reason why this didn’t happen was his lack of playing time. Even though Carter was posting these incredible numbers, the Flyers organization only allowed him to start in 43 of the teams 77 regular season games last season. That number was only good enough to rank him 16th overall in the league in games played. Now I think most Flyers fans would agree that Carter is much better than just some middle of the pack net minder and has proven himself to be deserving of a chance to truly compete against the elite players at his position.
But in order to do that the Flyers’ are going to have to give Hart the reigns and allow him to play more than just the 55% of the Flyers’ games that he played in last season! Carter is now and always has been a true professional who takes his job more serious than that of the vast majority of goaltenders in the league today. His efforts to stay focused during a game by squirting his water bottle into the air and intently watching as each drop of water passes with in his line of vison is not only unique in nature but also innovative. Not to mention his continued work with a sports phycologist (which he has been attending sessions with since before his time in junior hockey) in order to help him hone his craft by staying calm while in the net and confident in his abilities. To date these methods, seem to be working out for the young phenom and if they continue to allow Carter to gain even the slightest edge over his opponent then they shall be considered worth doing.
A goaltender’s game is largely mental, and their confidence is built on consistency. They aren’t like most other players, they tend to be a bit well, we will say “different” I mean they have to be right? Would the normal person be willing to just go stand in the net and have a hard piece of rubber coming at them at speeds of over 100 m.p.h.? I think not. Therefore, a coach should be careful with them. If you are lucky enough to have a star goalie (like the Flyers’ have in Hart) you must reassure them that you entrust them with your team. To do this sometimes you have to be willing to put them right back out there the next night after they just blew a game for you the night before. Now this goalie turned writer does not know who came up with the idea that you should not play a goalie on back-to-back nights, but they are wrong! In fact, most goalies desire the crease like a number one receiver in football wants every pass to be thrown his way. So, a goalie by committee way of doing things may seem like a good idea with the thought behind it being that both goalies can stay fresh; but it tends to largely have the opposite effect. Most goalies partake in routines, and preparations because they like to stay in a rhythm. The majority of these routines tend to begin long before their trip to the rink; and if a goalie does not know if they are going to be playing that night or not, they cannot get themselves into the right mindset for the game. To go along with that a goalies timing and their ability to keep their angles sharp is done so by playing time. There is no amount of practice that can be an adequate substitute for in game play, this goalie is here to tell you!
That is why you can see that as evident by the following stats that playing time (by the goaltender) often leads to great success. Looking at some of the league leaders from last season in starts you will see that Carter Hart’s boy hood idol Carey Price (who has won a Vezina in years past) played in 58 games last season for Montreal. That’s 80% of the Canadiens total games. Connor Hellebuyck (this year’s Vezina Trophy winner) played in 58 of his team’s games as well. For a total of 75% of his teams starts. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning (who has also won a Vezina in years past) played in 58 of his team’s regular season games as well. For a total of 74% of his teams starts. Former Flyer Sergei Bobrovsky now of the Florida Panthers (who has 2 Vezina Trophy to his name) played in 50 of his team’s games this past season while standing tall in net for 65% of his teams starts. Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington of St. Louis started in 50 games for the Blues this year, playing in a total of 67% of his games. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury now of the Vegas Golden Knights who has 3 Stanley cups to his name played in 66% of his teams’ games, and finally Branden Holtby last season with Washington Capitals (who has his name on the Stanley Cup and on the Vezina trophy as well played in 48 games this season earning 68% of his teams starts. Now be that as it may a lengthy list Hart has won games against most of these accomplished netminders and even beaten one of them in a playoff series! A playoff where management finally decided to give Hart the reigns and allowed him to play in 82% of his teams’ starts this past post season. Which lead to as you remember one of the longest post seasons runs the Flyers have had in a very long time. Hart took the Flyers to the brink of an eastern conference finals appearance. Not bad for a then 21-year-old kid huh?
That is why even with the start of a very unorthodox season just about to get under way, the Flyers should still look to let Hart start the majority of this year’s games even if that means starting him on back-to-back nights on occasion. He has shown that he is more than capable of doing so and has proven deserving of this opportunity. If the Flyers and their fans alike want Carter to one day achieve such accomplishments as these other elite goaltenders (that were previously mentioned). Then they must give Hart the reins and let him lead the team to the promise land.
Hart was the goalie for ALL playoff games. Pretty sure he took over the “reins”.