The San Jose Sharks have been looking for a number-one netminder, and Carter Hart could be the answer.
The San Jose Sharks have been searching for a No. 1 goaltender since the buyout of Martin Jones, and Carter Hart might be an option to look into.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers, Colombus Blue Jackets, and Los Angeles Kings made a three-way trade involving Flyers d-man Ivan Provorov going to Columbus. Not long after that news broke, more news came out that the Flyers were looking into trading Carter Hart.
Hart is a former second-round pick and is only 24 years old. During his draft year of 2016, he was highly regarded and thought to be the Flyers' goalie of the future.
When first called up in 2018-19, Hart looked like he would be just that. In 31 games played, Hart had a save % of .917 and a GAA of 2.83. He followed up the next season with another impressive save % of .914 in 43 games.
Goalies often take a lot of time to develop, but Hart was having success at a very young age. Things did take a turn for the worse as Hart had a very down season in the shortened COVID-19 season of 2020-21 with a save % of .877.
Hart has been marginally better since, with save %s of .905 and .907 the last two seasons, but it seems as though his time has run out in Philly.
The San Jose Sharks should be interested in Hart's services, but getting him may take a lot. The Sharks do own a lot of draft capital and are about to embark on a major rebuild, so getting a cornerstone goalie would be step one.
According to San Jose Hockey Now, if the Flyers are to trade Hart, they would want a significant amount more than what they got in return for Provorov. The Flyers received one first-round and two second-round picks in the three-team trade.
Hart will be a restricted free agent after next season and could be due for a pay raise, and with the Flyers also acquiring Cal Peterson from the Kings, Hart's spot as the No. 1 goalie seems to be over.
The San Jose Sharks own three first-round draft picks in the next two seasons. Two of them are their own, with the other pick being the New Jersey Devils' first pick in the upcoming 2023 NHL Draft.
With San Jose in rebuild mode, trading multiple first-round picks is not very smart, and GM Mike Grier has said they don't intend on trading this season's 4th overall pick.
Trading for Hart to get a keystone goalie for a rebuild could be a huge jump for the Sharks. The timing of the move may be off. The Sharks are basically in year one of drafting prospects and acquiring more draft capital.
If the Sharks get Carter Hart, they need him to return to his star goalie status when he was drafted and first entered the NHL.