Photo Credit: Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports
With the Flyers enduring a less than expected off season, unfortunately Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers top brass have placed enormous pressure on Carter Hart for this coming season. Some Flyers fans will place blame on him if the team has a lack of success regardless of how well he plays (Like last season), while other fans will understand that he’s been placed in a tough position, to where you have to put the puck in the net to win the game. While looking over this Flyers roster, it appears that the Flyers may struggle to score goals, at least on paper.
Yes, this very well maybe the best defense Carter Hart has seen from the orange and black, but I’m afraid that he will be unfairly scrutinized if the Flyers aren’t playing well. I believe Hart will play well this season, but that’s all no and void if the Flyers aren’t winning games, to which Hart’s numbers will be unfairly scrutinized in the event this transpires. At the end of the day, most hockey fans and pundits look at the win-loss column and numbers, however, that doesn’t always tell the entire story like last season for example with Hart and Martin Jones. Both goalies had a solid season, but if you look at their numbers one may not think so if they don’t follow the team on the daily basis.
Hart (2021-22)- 13-24-7, 3.16 GAA, .905 SV%
Jones (2021-22)- 12-18-3, 3.42 GAA, .900 SV%
“I do believe the first thing, as far as on ice that I need to attack, is the play away from the puck,” new Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella said at his introductory press conference. “I think we need give Carter a little bit more support as far as how we play around him. Allow him to really get himself into the National Hockey League. He’s 23. 23 as goalie and I’m not making any criticisms of prior play, but this is how you go about it. I think we need to give Carter a little more support.”
Carter Hart had a solid back bounce season considering the level of play in front of him on a regular basis. He bailed the Flyers out time and time again last season, saved their bacon. Moreover, on most occasions he was the sole reason the Flyers were in many games. Hart’s numbers did not do him justice, while he sported a 13-24-7 record, with a .905 Save Percentage. At times he made great save after great save, keeping the Flyers within striking distance to obtain a victory.
In a season clearly highlighting the Flyers non-successes, Hart was sort of a bright spot for the Flyers last season, a season that was otherwise dark and gloomy. It’s unfortunate the Flyers received quality goaltending for the most part last season, and they finished with a historic one of the worst seasons in Flyers history.
It may or not be be hard to judge Hart for what he is worth this season, but let’s hope Hart can prove some of his doubters wrong. This young man has electrified the fan base, and has cemented himself as the guy between the pipes for the orange and black for years to come. Let’s hope he stays healthy this season, and plays well.
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I have been a Flyers fan long enough to remember when the team drafted Mike Ricci. During his early years it seemed he was always awarded one of the Stars of the Game. It became a running joke in my circle of friends. Ricci was a great player, hard working, tenacious, and gritty. But he won that “Star of the Game” stuff way more often than his on ice performance seemed to justify. Some nights it was just too hard to see just how he had impacted that particular game. It was that invisible quality that was not too hard to define. The invisible quality that Mike Ricci possessed for the Flyers Organization was the fact that he was not Jaromir Jagr. You see the Flyers had passed over Jagr to draft Ricci. It seemed the organization was constantly trying to make up for that gigantic misstep by attempting to oversell Mike Ricci to the fan base. Carter Hart is a great athlete with a heart of gold who had an amazing pre NHL history. He has been our “Franchise Goaltender” and the future of the the Flyers since the moment he was called up to the big club. Every puck that hit him right in the logo was cheered by the hungry fan base. He is often said to be the “go to guy” for years to come. The only part about all of the “franchise future” talk that is too hard to swallow is his actual performance in the net. Even in his most promising year as a Flyer his road record was a disaster, yet the hype continued to build. It seems the defense is always to blame even for all the early high glove side goals that deflate the team and keep them chasing a multiple goal deficit for the duration of the night. “He really kept them in this one” is a mantra that gets repeated ad nauseam. I understand goalies mature. Unlike other positions youth is not a great advantage. This is clearly the most patient our town has ever been with a goaltender. It is totally out of character for a fan base that is so quick to loose faith in net minders. Philly fans have turned on goalies for not carrying the team deep enough into the playoffs, think about that one for a minute. I know this town is so ready for a savior to arrive and turn this thing around and that has led to way too much pressure on such a young guy’s shoulders. A young guy with an invisible quality that is always just about to materialize.
Well said Rob