3 Reasons Why the Oilers Don't Need To Trade For Carter Hart
The Edmonton Oilers already have two goalies looking to play as well or better than in 2022-23.
Carter Hart was selected 48th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The Sherwood Park, Alberta native went to the Philadelphia Flyers organization, where he would jump into an NHL goaltending role two years post draft.
The 24 year old goalie is already five years into his NHL career. After playing 201 games he still has the potential to be even better. Regardless of the positive aspects of Hart, the Edmonton Oilers trading for him just doesn't make sense. Here are my three biggest reasons why.
Jack Campbell Will Rebound
Jack Campbell would be the likely return in a Hart trade. He's older than Skinner and had a bad year. In five years of playing at least 22 games he has never had higher than a 3.00 goals against average (GAA), lower than a .903 save percentage (SV%) and lower than a .913 even strength save percentage (EVSV%). In 2022-23 Campbell had a 3.41 GAA, .888 SV%, and .899 EVSV%.
Goalies can struggle when they join new teams. New systems and new teammates can all contribute to a necessary adjustment period with a different team. I'd expect Campbell to perform closer to his career averages for the 2023-24 season. After signing him to a five year $5M per year deal, it doesn't make sense to give up on him and trade him after an outlier year.
Skinner Will Build On Breakout Season
Stuart Skinner had a great rookie season. He was consistently good all year before going on a hot streak for his last 14 games to end the 2022-23 campaign. Overall he won 29 games and gave the Oilers the goaltending they needed to finish 2nd in the Pacific Division. He mustered a 2.73 GAA, .914 SV%, and a .924 EVSV%.
He is a Calder Trophy Finalist for top rookie in the league, along with Owen Power and Matty Beniers. He knows what it takes to be an NHL goalie playing regular minutes, and will put in the work to replicate the success he had this year. Depending on how much Campbell bounces back, Skinner could drop below the 50 games played benchmark.
He'd Be The Third String Goalie
With Campbell and Skinner playing better (or similar) than last year, having Hart in the mix would force him to be the third string goaltender. He would need to spend the entire season in the American Hockey League. It wouldn't benefit Hart or the Oilers to have him be the third goaltender with the team.
The alternative would be to send one of Campbell or Skinner to the Flyers in exchange for Hart. If it's Skinner, you're trading a 24 year old goalie for a 24 year old goaltender. That's a lateral move for both clubs. Campbell makes more sense, except considering the deal he signed last off season with the Oilers. With this past year being a dramatic outlier in his career, there is a low likelihood that Campbell has second year just as bad.
It would be a great story to have Hart come to the Oilers and play for his hometown team. With the current goalie situation, and both goalies looking to either improve or have another good year, this rumor has more smoke than fire to it.