After it was revealed that the Philadelphia Flyers would be diving into a rebuild, names started popping up. But the ball really didn’t fall until the team traded Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Value-wise, Carter Hart should be the highest priority for the Flyers to now move as the timetable just doesn’t line up.
He had a solid year for the Flyers as the starter, but is 24 years old, has one year left under contract at $3.979 million, and becomes a restricted free agent (RFA) after that. Teams could use his services right now and will likely pay pretty good amount for him. More teams continue to enter the conversation, so we’re going to take a look at the three most recently rumored teams to be linked to Hart and why it makes sense.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The longer the goaltending questions remain, the more speculation about heading in a new direction in net comes up. The Toronto Maple Leafs took a chance on Ilya Samsonov last offseason and it paid off, but as he’s a RFA and will require a pay raise, it seems the team isn’t totally convinced he should be their starter moving forward or he would have a contract already.
Elliotte Friedman noted that the Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres have been linked to Hart. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the core of the team, so the length the Maple Leafs would have Hart if acquiring him without a new contract works out. The Flyers’ goalie was arguably the MVP for the team over the entire season with very little help in front of him. So his numbers should be much better on a very good team like the one Toronto has.
Buffalo Sabres
Even with Craig Anderson out as a goalie for the Sabres, they still have three options heading into next season – Eric Comrie, Devon Levi, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Levi is their future and should be in the NHL next season, but if a starter is brought in, it’s not a great idea to run with three goalies on the roster.
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Since the Sabres don’t have a real starter at this time and they are on the cusp of becoming a very good team competing for the playoffs each season, they will be linked to many high-end goalies this offseason. They have ample amounts of cap space and Hart’s age and workload he’s experienced both fit well with the Sabres. Buffalo wasn’t a great defensive team, but the Flyers also didn’t give much help in front of their goalies. The Flyers will be looking for draft capital or prospects, two things the Sabres have and can afford to give up to acquire a starter.
San Jose Sharks
My best guess is that the San Jose Sharks don’t want to rebuild for a long time. They have some talented prospects and are drafting fourth overall in 2023. Whether they move that pick to rebound quicker or not, they are going to get a good player with that draft pick. Jeff Marek wonders if the Sharks could end up pursuing Hart. I could see it if they lock him in for at least four years because it would give them enough time to become competitive quickly if that is their goal. They have some solid veterans locked in, including Tomas Hertl who the team won’t want to see the entire contract go to waste.
