Former Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall knew Carter Hart wasn’t far from the NHL when he was leading the team although thinks he should have been put in a scenario where he was a No. 1 goaltender.
Hextall spoke with David Amber, Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean on Hockeycentral at Noon on Wednesday, a day after being named to Hockey Canada’s management team for the 2019 World Championships.
Hart, long labelled as the Flyers’ goalie of the future, has lived up to expectations since being called up from the American Hockey League in December by posting a 15-11-1 record, 2.72 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
“I believe Carter should just come up as a (number) one or certainly worst case a 1A/1B,” said Hextall. “I don’t believe in a kid that has a chance at being a top guy to come up and label him as a backup. He might as well be playing 60 games or 55 games in the minors.”
Philadelphia called up Hart sooner than they had hoped but they were left with little choice after a slew of injuries to fellow netminders Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth and Anthony Stolarz.
It has been a disappointing season for the Flyers, who currently sit 10 points out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. Philadelphia fired Hextall in late November after a 10-11-2 start to the season.
Hextall still likes how the Flyers are built and pointed to the 2016-17 Tampa Bay Lightning as an example of how good teams can have bad seasons.
Many had that Tampa team pegged as legitimate contenders after making it to Game 7 of the conference finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins the year before, and making the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014-15.
“Sometimes when you’re building a team, things don’t come together as quickly as you kind of hoped and as you envisioned,” said Hextall. “Those are the ups and downs of the NHL. The parity in the league is crazy and if you’re just off by a little bit you’re going to lose.”
The Lightning have since bounced back and are in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons in modern NHL history, prompting Hextall to pick them as favourites for the Stanley Cup.
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