Carter Hart Is Now the Best Player on the Flyers Roster
Less than 2 years after his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings on December 18th, 2018, goaltender Carter Hart is the best player on the Philadelphia Flyers roster.
The 22-year-old goaltender from Sherwood Park, Alberta solidified himself as the future of the team after posting a .926 SV% and 2.23 GAA in 14 games during the 2020 NHL playoffs.
Hart was able to post these impressive numbers behind a defense who’s play was shaky and inconsistent throughout most of the playoffs. Hart was a legitimate candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs for most of the Flyers playoff run, which is an impressive achievement for a guy who can’t even rent a car in the United States yet. Hart was by far the best Flyer on the ice at all times during both the regular season and playoffs although Selke Trophy winner Sean Couturier, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Konecny consistently gave him some competition.
Hart’s regular-season numbers were impressive just like in the playoffs as he posted a .914 SV% and 2.42 GAA in 43 games during the shortened 2019/20 NHL campaign. He ranked 8th in GAA, 9th in Wins, and 21st in SV% among all qualified goaltenders during the regular season. Even though his save percentage numbers don’t exactly jump off the stat sheet, he is a top 10 goaltender in the NHL right now based on his numbers alone.
He was recently snubbed by the NHL network for their Top 10 goalies list, which doesn’t come as a shock since the NHL network has consistently snubbed Flyers players from their top player rankings. Although the fans voted Carter Hart as the 4th best goaltender in the NHL, which is honestly a bit of a stretch at the moment but more of an accurate ranking than outside of the top 10.
As mentioned earlier, the other top candidates for the team’s best player would be Sean Couturier, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Konecny.
Sean Couturier
Sean Couturier won the 2020 Selke as the best defensive forward in the game, and solidified himself as the most all-around forward on the team as he put up 59 points (22 G, 37 A) in 69 games played, and had a +/- of 21. His performance in the playoffs wasn’t necessarily anything to write home about but his 9 points (2 G, 7 A) and +/- of 1 was respectable.
Ivan Provorov
Ivan Provorov is the team’s best defenseman by a landslide and a staple on the team’s powerplay. In 69 games played last season, he put up 36 points (G 13, 23 A), +/- of 11, and 111 blocked shots which ranked him 29th among defensemen.
Travis Konecny
Travis Konecny led the team in points and goals during the regular season and represented the Metropolitan division in the 2020 NHL All-star game. Claude Giroux had been the best player on the roster for around 7-8 seasons, he is now in his post-prime years and moved to more of a solid contributor on the wing. All three players in Couturier, Provorov, and Konecny are all arguably top 25 in the league at their position but if I were to select any player from the Flyers roster to start an expansion team with my unanimous first pick would be Carter Hart.
Carter Hart is currently the best player on the roster and will only get better and improve on his impressive numbers in the seasons to come.
Featured Image: Metro Philly
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