The Flyers' fire-sale is in full swing and a Carter Hart trade is pending; could the Leafs be in on Hart?
The Philadelphia Flyers have begun their fire sale as general manager, Daniel Briere, has officially made his first move by trading defenseman, Ivan Provorov, to the Columbus Blue Jackets as part of a three-team trade involving the Los Angeles Kings.
It's no surprise that the Flyers moved on from the former first round pick. He had been dangled as trade bait by former general manager, Chuck Fletcher, for years, there were reports of rifts between player and team, and for a team that was supposedly rebuilding, trading a 26-year old defenseman with 2 years left only made sense.
The Flyers acquired a 2022 first round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets - that was previously owned by the Kings - as well as a second round pick alongside goaltender, Cal Peteresen, and defenseman, Sean Walker. Moments after the trade was broken down, Anthony Di Marco - who is well in tune with Flyers news - mentioned that a deal involving Carter Hart was in the works.
There were murmurs for some time that the Flyers could be dangling their young goaltender in a way to recoup the most assets imaginable for their rebuild. It seemed unlikely at times considering the graveyard of goaltenders they went through since the late 1990s. However with the emergence of Samuel Ersson and the acquisition of Petersen - not knowing yet if he figures into their plans or not - it seems like Hart's days are numbered.
A 24-year-old goaltender who had 2 great seasons to start his career before a tough stretch between 2020-21 and 2021-22 - mostly due to the shoddy defense of the Flyers - turned things around this past season. His numbers might not show that but he was top-10 to 15 in a lot of analytical numbers and was toe-to-toe with some of the best in the league.
Could the Maple Leafs swing a deal for his services? It's tough to tell what the Flyers will be looking for exactly but it will start with a first round pick and plenty more draft capital. The Leafs have the 28th overall pick, which would definitely not be enough to sway Briere and company with plenty of other teams holding onto higher draft picks.
Perhaps with Hart available, the Leafs might be inclined to move the rights of Ilya Samsonov or even Joseph Woll. Hart is a proven goaltender and comes in with an AAV of 3.979 million with one year left on his contract. He could command a lot more the following season but he will remain an RFA and fits in seamlessly with the Leafs timeline for contention.
When Hart was drafted in 2016, he was the first goaltender off the board with the 48th pick, while Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames drafted goaltender, Tyler Parsons with the 54th pick. Joseph Woll was ironically drafted in the third round as well. You have to believe Treliving was eyeing Hart that draft considering he was the top-ranked goaltender, which makes you wonder if he'd try to pull off the move now with zero attachment to either Woll or Samsonov.
The Flyers would be very interested in Woll, considering his age, contract, and cap hit. He would fit their timeline of contention and add to the young goaltenders they currently have in Ersson, Felix Sandstrom, and Alexei Kolosov.
