Ad Blocker Placeholder

As Flyers look to rebuild properly, will Carter Hart be part of plan?

With the dismissal of Chuck Fletcher and the appointment of interim GM Daniel Briere, a new era for the Philadelphia Flyers has arrived. Now the question is who else from the organization’s current iteration will go, and who stays.

While there are sure to be more changes in the front office as Briere builds out his staff, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reported Saturday that changes on the ice could be coming, too.

“It very much sounds like this is going to be a rebuilding phase for the Philadelphia Flyers,” Marek said Saturday during Hockey Night in Canada’s ’32 Thoughts’ segment.

One Flyer who could be nearing the end of his tenure in Philly? Kevin Hayes, who’s currently playing out his fourth year in the city. According to Marek, in the lead-up to the trade deadline, a deal involving the three-time 30-goal-scorer was discussed by Philadelphia and Columbus, where Hayes’ longtime friend and former college linemate Johnny Gaudreau now resides. Per Marek, further conversations of a potential Hayes-to-Columbus move could resume closer to the NHL Draft.

The bigger question, though, appears to be the future of netminder Carter Hart.

A second-round pick of the Flyers’ back in 2016, Hart burst onto the big-league scene as a 20-year-old and has been a mainstay for the club in the half-decade since, though his numbers have dropped since his strong start.

As the Flyers mull their next steps, though, the team's new front office must consider whether Hart is of more use to the organization as a starting netminder, or as an asset that could potentially bring back useful future pieces in a trade.

“The presence and emergence of Sammy Ersson, the netminder in Lehigh Valley, has really given the Philadelphia Flyers some options here,” Marek said Saturday. “Philly can extend Carter Hart this summer. There’s still another year left on his contract. They can extend him. But the decision is if they’re going to go through a rebuild, what would they get for Carter Hart on the open market? We suspect a lot. 

“And, does Carter Hart want to spend what would be probably the best years of his career in a rebuild? Something very much to watch there.”

NHL NEWS

More Headlines

COMMENTS

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.