Seravalli: Don’t expect Carter Hart
1 year ago
The Philadelphia Flyers look to be stripping it down in the City of Brotherly Love. It became apparent yesterday after trading away Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a three-way trade, which also included the Los Angeles Kings.
Once that deal was finalized and the dust settle, the speculation began swirling around the other players and specifically Carter Hart.
Hart is a 24-year-old goaltender from Sherwood Park, a suburb of Edmonton. He just finished his 5th season as a pro, all with the Flyers, and has 201 games played along with a 0.906 save percentage and a 2.96 goals-against average.
Of course, with him being a local Edmonton area product, the Edmonton Oilers have entered the rumour conversations.
There is no denying that every Oilers fan would like to have Hart in the lineup next season. A tandem of Stuart Skinner and Hart would have plenty of potential to help the team do some damage.
Frank Seravalli from Daily Faceoff had this to say about the Hart rumours on Oilersnation Everyday with Tyler Yaremchuk:
“I do not have any sense or indication that the (Edmonton) Oilers are in on the goalie market at all. I think they are contractually stuck with what they have in Jack Campbell and to a lesser extent Stuart Skinner. Carter Hart is available but the price I think is going to be pretty significant. The Flyers are listening but to my understanding nothing is imminent. Everyone on the Flyers is up for grabs, with the expectation of Cutter Guenther.”
As Frank mentioned, the Oilers are tied into Campbell for the next four years and $5 million per. If the Flyers were to accept a deal involving Hart, Ken Holland may have to pay a premium to have that contract moved. Additionally, Hart is a restricted free agent next summer, which is another layer to the onion.
Philadelphia isn’t unfamiliar with trading young upcoming goaltenders away. Back in 2012, a young Serge Bobrovsky was coming onto the scene but his path was blocked by Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers moved Bobrovsky to the Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2012 2nd-round pick (Anthony Stolarz), a 2012 4th-round pick (Taylor Leier), and a 2013 4th-round pick (Justin Auger). Bryzgalov played only four more seasons in the NHL, one with the Flyers, while Bobrovsky is now fighting for a Stanley Cup ring with the Florida Panthers.
It’s fair to assume that if Hart was moved, the Flyers would get a bigger return than what they got for Bobrovsky back in 2012.
While this seems like the Oilers don’t stand a chance of getting the young star, never say never. Last trade deadline, Mattias Ekholm felt like a pipe dream after he had just signed a new three-year ticket in Nashville. Yet, Holland managed to pull that deal off and get the Oilers an elite defenceman.
Can he do it again? We shall see.
For now, we know that the Oilers’ cap space is a challenge. Before even considering Hart a deal, some other decisions regarding the current roster may have to be made.
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