Philadelphia Flyers: Is Carter Hart The Real Deal Or A Flash In The Pan?

The Philadelphia Flyers history of goaltending is filled with flashes in the pan and disappointments. Could CarterHart be the chosen one?

Just when it looked like the most memorable character to come out of the Philadelphia Flyers 2018-2019 would be the lovable, yet still slightly nightmare-inducing mascot Gritty, goaltending prodigy Carter Hart rose to the challenge of taking over the Flyers crease.

In the second half of the season, he has almost single-handedly launched Philadelphia back into the playoff race after months spent at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division. His performance is earning Calder Trophy consideration, but his tale is nothing new.

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A surprising fresh-faced goalie playing the second half of the season to be an unsung hero that turns his team around and lead them to the playoffs is a story you’ve probably heard before. It’s the same plot line that happened with Andrew Hammond with the Ottawa Senators and Devan Dubnyk with the Minnesota Wild in 2015, as well as Keith Kinkaid with the New Jersey Devils in 2018. You could argue the same was true with Cam Ward during the Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup run, but the first season in the post-2055 lockout NHL was an odd benchmark to set for a current comparison.

The question now, judging off of Dubnyk, Hammond, and Kinkaid, is this – is Hart’s late season success the real deal and a preview of better things to come? Or just a “flash in the pan” half season feel good story? Is his amazing goaltending here to stay? Or is it merely a late-season mirage for suffering Flyers fans?

Start off with the most recent of the three comparisons with Kinkaid last season with the Devils. After Cory Schneider went down with an injury in January, he took over the starter’s role and went on an 18-7-1 run through February, March and early April to lead the Devils to a Wild Card spot.

Although he was benched in favor for Schneider during the first round playoff loss, offseason surgery to Schneider once again meant Kinkaid would be the starter to being the new season. Instead of continuing his performance that carried the Devils into the postseason, he fell back into statistics you’d expect from an undrafted backup goalie who was in over his head in the starter’s role. His save percentage throughout the 2017-2018 season was .913. This season it has far regressed to .894.

Back up a few seasons and you get two entirely different stories between Hammond and Dubynk. The latter had been labeled an NHL castoff. After being shipped out of Edmonton and a brief stint with the Coyotes, he landed with the Minnesota Wild.

Only time will tell how Hart develops, but the future looks bright.

Almost as soon as Dubnyk put on a Wild jersey, he began playing like the goaltender Edmonton had hoped he would become. As if going 39-27-9 with a 1.78 goals against average wasn’t enough, he ended the season by winning the Bill Masterson Trophy and signed a six-year contract extension.

Although Dubynk got his fair share of praise, the lion’s share of media attention that season went to Hammond and the Senators. Beginning his NHL career as an emergency AHL call up in January of that year, the “Hamburglar” overtook the Senators starting role to go 20-1-2 to single-handedly erase a double-digit point deficit that was keeping Ottawa out of the playoffs, while re-writing some NHL rookie goaltender records in the process.

Unfortunately for Hammond, as the 2014-2015 regular season came to a close, so did his brilliance in the crease. He was booted in favor for Craig Anderson after a weak showing in the first round playoff matchup.

Although Hammond posted respectable numbers in 2015-2016, injuries and poor performance demoted him back to the AHL the following season. The once superstar new kid on the block left the Senators as part of the ill-fated trade that acquired Matt Duchene from Colorado in 2017. Aside from sporadic appearances and call-ups between Colorado and his current team Minnesota, he hasn’t cracked an NHL roster since.

What does this mean for Hart? These seemingly miraculous runs by goaltenders are nothing new, and more likely than not, they do not last. That should serve as a tale of caution for Hart, but not discouragement. Hart should, and is, hitting the ice every night thinking how he can lead the Flyers to victory, not if he’s going to be the next Hammond or Dubynk.

Out of the three goalies, Dubynk has had the most successful career with his continued success. Dubnyk has also had a long time to grow and develop his game, going through as many trials, tribulations and trades an NHL-er can go through before he gets discouraged. If Hart can learn one thing from him, it’s that success takes time and to be patient. Just because you’re successful now, doesn’t mean that success will last.

Hart is lucky in the fact that it seems the Flyers have full confidence in him and trust in his abilities. It will be up to Philadelphia to still be cautious and not put too much on the young Carter Hart too quick.

A simple case of overwhelming the young player can be enough to stunt his developmental progression. Just because he’s playing like an elite NHL goaltender now doesn’t change the fact he was an AHL prospect few short months ago.

Only time will tell how Hart develops, but the future looks bright. With patience and adjustments to his growing pains, from both Hart himself and the Flyers organization, can develop to be the NHL starting goalie we’ve seen in his flash of brilliance. If they rush the process, or if Hart takes his rise to fame too much for granted, he might end up right back in the AHL where he started.