Carter Hart's name may come up in trade conversations, but don't expect the Flyers to move their top goalie so easily.

Last weekend, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere made headlines after telling 94.1 WIP he'd entertain offers on any player, including stud goaltender Carter Hart.

Inevitably, fans feverishly began concocting far-fetched trade scenarios involving the Flyers' top netminder.

For now, though, fans may want to put their fictitious Carter Hart trade projections to the side.

In an interview with Broad Street Hockey's Bill Matz and Kelly Hinkle on Tuesday, Briere clarified that while no player on the Flyers' roster is immovable, it's not a foregone conclusion that he'll trade away the franchise's No. 1 goalie.

Far from it, in fact.

"All I was saying is it's my job as a GM, my duty towards the fans, the organization, is to listen to any offers on any players at this time. We're not in a place where we can say anybody's untouchable," said Briere.

"Obviously there's players that are more important than others as far as their responsibilities, and Carter Hart certainly being one of them. But my point was just that nobody is above the team, and my duty to me and my staff is to listen to what's out there."

There's a legitimate case to be made for the Flyers to trade Hart. He has just one more year on his contract before becoming an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer, and when he does eventually sign a new contract, he'll likely command a significant pay raise. Still just 24 years old, the Flyers could acquire a pretty nice package for Hart if they do opt to move him, which could accelerate the coming rebuild considerably.

But the benefits of keeping Hart for the long haul could potentially be just as rewarding. Given Hart's age, it's not unrealistic that he can still fit into the Flyers' long-term timeline. And given the quality of the team playing in front of him, it's possible he still hasn't even reached his ceiling yet.

Briere is open to any and all possibilities this offseason, as he should be. But considering Hart's importance to the Flyers, both now and in the future, it'll hardly be surprising if he remains in Philadelphia next season.

"I see Carter being the goalie of the future," said Briere. "He's still young. He's still part of what we'd like to build here. He fits into that window.

"It would have to be a crazy load of a haul to even consider trading him."