Garnet Hathaway, 32, became a fan favorite in Philadelphia. On July 1st, 2023, Hathaway joined the Philadelphia Flyers. Before his initial two-year contract finished, Daniel Brière signed Hathaway to a two-year extension a year to the date later on July 1st, 2024.
In 2024-2025, Hathaway is in the final season of a 2yr/$4.75mil deal before his 2yr/$4.8mil extension kicks in through 2025-2027.
Embodying the values of Flyers hockey, Hathaway helps set a tone on the ‘identity line‘ in Philadelphia. He and Ryan Poehling work with Noah Cates and only become more menacing with Nicolas Deslauriers in particularly physical matchups.
A pest since his days with the Washington Capitals, Hathaway gets under the skin of his opponent. When he originally signed, his production did not explode off the page, but that is because Hathaway is a role player who enforces and prioritizes hard-checking and physicality. He and Deslauriers are two skaters who will stand toe-to-toe, battling for teammates. That is huge for next season, protecting Matvei Michkov during his rooking season in the NHL.
Hathaway helps set a precedent, or tone, with his intense checking and physicality. A focal point for the Flyers is showing the league they are in for a fight when visiting Philadelphia. At times, that very message prevailed last season. Next season, it must be more consistent. A playoff berth is the aim, and while the lineup has not changed drastically, there are enough new wrinkles to quench the postseason drought.
Brière already showed Michkov his new ‘best friend,‘ referencing a video of Deslauriers fighting Matt Rempe, but he has another. Hathaway led all forwards in hits last season, only trailing Jeremy Lauzon for the league lead. In 82 games, Hathaway tallied 17 points (7G, 10A), reminiscent of a former Flyers enforcer from the late 1980s and early 1990s, Craig Berube.
“We also showed him a video of a fight between Nic [Deslauriers] in a [New York] Rangers game last year. We told him it’s his new best friend coming in.” – Daniel Brière; 7/24/2024
Finishing on a high note was critical for Hathaway. He began to play more confidently in the second half of the season. In the second half of the season, Hathaway scored 12 points (3G, 9A). He was occasionally clutch, including his game-winner at Amerant Bank Arena against the Florida Panthers, 2-1.
The Flyers played significant hockey deep into last season. Missing the postseason hurt, but there is value in competing against quality teams after the NHL Trade Deadline. Teams are playing a tighter game, forcing an elevated level to sink or swim with the rest of the field. Philadelphia sank, but they are poised to be back in the hunt. Hathaway felt optimistic at the end of his first season in South Philly:
“In a group like this, where the work ethic is already so high, and you see that trust that we have in the locker room; you see how hard everyone’s working, you can trust the guy next to you that they’re going to do the same thing. You know in the summer, they’re going to put the work in, and we’re going to come back even better than we were.” – Garnet Hathaway; 4/17/2024
It is easy to forget how the Flyers shocked the league with their performance last season. Few, if anyone at all, considered Philadelphia a team to entertain a postseason push, but they did.
Next season, the Flyers hope to avoid matching the longest playoff drought in franchise history (1990-1994) after missing the postseason since 2021.
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