With the Flyers finally embracing a rebuild, Danny Brière has declared that everyone is available for the right price. This includes potential franchise goalie Carter Hart.
The offseason has already started for the Flyers as the first big splash was unloading longtime defenseman Ivan Provorov. When looking at the trade as a whole, the Flyers got a good deal, but there was a key piece that showed what the Flyers could be building.
A first, pair of seconds, a prospect, an NHL-ready defenseman, and…a goalie under contract for two more years at $5M AAV…weird. Cal Petersen may have been thrown in as a salary match, but when the Flyers have viable options for the backup goaltending position in Felix Sandström and Samuel Ersson, the need to spend almost $9M AAV on a pair of goalies seems odd.
Speculation on social media that the Flyers set this up for a potential Carter Hart trade was validated when David Pagnotta and Anthony Di Marco, both from The Fourth Period, reported that the Flyers were working on a deal involving Hart.
This news coming out while the details of the Provorov trade were still being reported on seemed to show that the Flyers made this deal with the idea that the Hart deal might follow soon after.
After the dust had settled in the Provorov trade, there was radio silence on the Hart trade. Then more radio silence. Finally, Anthony San Filippo of Crossing Broad came out and told the fans to pump the brakes on a Hart trade.
Okay, that’s fine, maybe just a little cold feet or a negotiation tactic by either Brière or the other GM he was making this deal with.
Well a week has passed now and there has been more on Hart from one of the big boys up in Canada, Elliotte Friedman.
Ok so what just happened? This deal seemed to be in the process of being made, and then *poof* nothing at all.
Well, there are a few reasons why the Hart trade went dead so quickly. Some are pretty obvious, some not so much, and one is a very serious topic that could even hurt the potential of a future Hart trade.
Let’s go over all of them.
1. Danny Brière pulled out due to not getting the deal he wanted
This is the most logical reason. In the reports that came out, the Hart trade was being worked on, but it was said that it was “not at the finish line.” Briere might’ve been working on the deal but not gotten what he wanted, so he pulled out.
If that was the case, good for Brière not caving. Hart is a huge asset and one that should bring back a plethora of picks and/or prospects to jolt a rebuild.
2. The Flyers’ asking price is too high for teams
This is the flip-side of Brière pulling out. Whichever team was making this deal might’ve been trying to negotiate with Brière, but Danny was holding firm. Brière set his price and wouldn’t budge so the other GM pulled out.
Again if this is the case, good on Brière for staying firm and not caving when the other GM said no.
3. There never was a deal close and both teams made an offer and left it there
Just because a GM is working on a trade, doesn’t mean one was close or will even ever happen. That could also be the case here. Since Briere did say all players are available for the right price, it would be malpractice for a GM to not even call and make an offer. Maybe while the Provorov trade was happened Briere was getting calls about Hart too, so news just leaked together.
4. The Flyers/Brière were using the media to boost a possible deal
This happens a lot with agents in the offseason trying to maximize the money their player gets. A player gets an offer from one team, the agent leaks info out to the media to get other teams to realize they have to sweeten the deal to have a shot and back and forth until a deal is taken or a team drops out.
A team might have been kicking the tires leading to the report going out that a Hart trade was in the works. This might’ve been a sneaky move by the Flyers front office to see if any GM would bite and make a better deal than they originally would thinking they could be missing out.
5. Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson
Carter Hart is 24 years old and hasn’t had an “elite” goaltending season in his career yet. A trade for Hart would be based on projection, not past performance. Two other goalies seem to be on the block this offseason, both having posted elite seasons in the past.
First we’ll talk about Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck is coming off yet another elite season in his career with the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets, however, seem to be moving towards a rebuild after their latest playoff flameout. With a bunch of free agents and players who want out, it’s reported that Hellebuyck will not sign an extention with Winnipeg, leaving him as perfect trade bait for a contending team. Teams would most likely take Hellebuyck over Hart right now, so Hart might not move until the Hellebuyck domino falls.
Another goaltender with an elite past seems to be on the move this offseason too. John Gibson is going to be a cheap get for a team that feels like they can fix him and contend. Gibson is coming off a couple atrocious seasons in Anaheim with the Ducks, but I’m not going to hold that against him as the Ducks defense was up there with the worst in the league those two seasons. A change of scenery might do Gibson well, and for a cheap price, I’m guessing teams would go for Gibson before Hart knowing they won’t have to sell the farm.
6. Carter Hart was on the 2018 Canadian WJC team that is under investigation
The final reason is the worst case scenario.
There have been reports from The Athletic that the Montreal Canadiens have a desire to “strengthen the organization at the goaltending position”, but that they wouldn’t be perusing Hart. Reportedly, the reasons are unclear but Hart is deemed a “non-starter.”
A 24-year-old franchise level goaltender under contract for two more seasons and who will be an RFA after the contracts is up being put on the trade block. Teams should be fighting each other over this opportunity, and the only news that has come out since the initial report is is to slow down and dial it back and that he is a “non-starter” for a team that needs goaltending. Seems not great.
When you take a step back and look at this from not just a Flyers standpoint, but an NHL standpoint, there are some signs pointing to Hart not being the only on on that 2018 WJC team being tiptoed around.
Alex Formenton was an RFA this past offseason coming off of a season with 18 goals and 14 assists. With Formenton being 22-23 years old over the past year, it’s strange that the Senators and Formenton couldn’t find a way to hammer out a contract. Formenton played this past season in Switzerland. He still has not released a statement on the investigation.
Hart did issue a blanket statement on the investigation stating, “I can’t really talk about it right now, I wish I could. I’m respecting the process with the NHL and fully cooperating with their investigation. But that’s all I can really say.”
All the players on the 2018 WJC team are prohibited from playing on the Canadian national team until the investigation is complete. That includes Hart.
It does seem unlikely that this is the reason a possible trade collapsed, given he has been playing all season, there wouldn’t have been trade talks in the first place, and has denied any involvement in the incident, but all avenues have to be explored to get to the bottom of how this trade situation suddenly died. To not mention it at all would be wrong too. We’ll know for sure about this theory when the report gets released or Hart is traded.
What’s next?
Really nothing. It’s just a waiting game at this point to see if/when Hart gets moved and for what. At this point all we can do is hope that the front office run by Danny Brière is better than the one run by Chuck Fletcher, and it seems to be that way already.
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