Flyers Daily News
Flyers Shouldn’t Trade Carter Hart, Their Most Valuable Asset
If Flyers general manager Daniel Briere were trying to send a message, he sent it. If he wanted to raise eyebrows around Philadelphia, he did it.
Briere’s impactful words likely rattled a few cages and they also put his rebuilding team on notice.
On 94.1 WIP on Saturday, the Flyers’ general manager said he was open to trading goalie Carter Hart.
Yikes. What?
“Most likely, Carter will be our goalie for the future, but I’m not in a position to turn down anything,” Briere said on 94.1 WIP. “I have to listen.”
I agree that Hart will be the Flyers’ goalie for the future. But there’s no denying that Briere’s words reverberated throughout the Jersey Shore, Ontario, Western Canada or wherever the players and fans are spending Memorial Day weekend.
There’s no quicker way to get a hockey team’s attention than the boss considering a trade of its best player.
Briere is right when he says he’s “not in a position to turn down anything.” His hockey team needs help everywhere.
He’s wrong if he is seriously thinking about trading Hart.
He’s wrong if his notion of trading Hart is more than a dalliance. I don’t know how seriously Briere is taking his own words. Is what he said on WIP just off the cuff? Was it calculated?
In any sport, it’s almost malpractice to trade your best player — although there have been cases where it worked. Hart is the Flyers’ best player at the game’s most important position.
Hart is the only Flyers player I consider untouchable.
To trade Hart, the return should be mind-blowing — a top-line forward or a top-line defenseman plus draft picks and a prospect. If another team won’t offer that, move on.
Rebuilding Project
Briere is the project manager on the Flyers’ rebuild. His task is enormous. His roster lacks star power. It lacks a strong defense. It lacks scoring power. The Flyers’ leading scorer, Travis Konecny had 31 goals. Owen Tippett had 27 goals. No one else hit the 20-goal mark.
This franchise has needed goaltender help through most of its history. They have an outstanding goalie right now, a guy who isn’t even in his prime and who should improve once he’s surrounded by a better defense.
Can’t you envision this? The Flyers’ rebuild takes off and in a few years they are contenders to make the playoffs. And Hart is in Ottawa, or somewhere. At the very moment the Flyers need a top-flight goaltender, he won’t be here.
Hockey teams can be built down the middle and from the goaltender out. The Flyers’ center situation is notably weak. That’s probably their top offseason priority.
They have a goalie who turns 25 in August. He is highly regarded around the league and in the Flyers’ locker room. You’re rebuilding, right? You have to start somewhere, right? Build around Hart.
Briere faces a demanding fan base unhappy with losing seasons. He is fortified by a management team that says it is willing to accept a necessary rebuild. It will be up to Briere, president of hockey operations Keith Jones and coach John Tortorella to build what has been torn asunder.
Their task is mighty. Don’t overthink this.
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Around The National Hockey Network:
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Detroit Hockey Now: Wings defenseman Moritz Seider takes home silver for Germany … and reminds his teammates how much they accomplished.
Chicago Hockey Now: Forward Lukas Reichel, the Blackhawks’ 2020 first-round pick, could be ready for big role next season.
Boston Hockey Now: Is former Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli a candidate for the same job with the Maple Leafs?
Tonight’s Playoff Game:
Game 6: Golden Knights at Dallas, 8, ESPN, ESPN+. The Golden Knights lead the series, 3-2. Game 7, if necessary will be in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
I completely disagree.
I’m a fan of Hart, but this rebuild implies the team will be bad for awhile. When the Flyers struggled through the Pandemic, Hart struggled too. Asking him to shoulder a team through mediocrity and underachievement for the next 3-7 years is a lot.
Briere has recognized the need for patience in order to do it right. That means egos taking a beating, players getting frustrated, and fans (and writers) getting impatient. Prematurely ending the rebuild with the belief the team is suddenly competitive amounts to undermining the whole process and wasting time.
Hart would be 30-32 by the time the rebuild starts to bear fruit. Hard to predict how it would impact his performance or if he will be the same guy. Look to Provorov as evidence of potential going south. Hart is my favorite player on this current team, but I feel they should move him, and if Ersson or Kolosov don’t seem like the solution(s) draft a goalie in the first round in 3-4 years once they have sufficiently built up the team and farm with quality prospects and depth. He’s great, but he’s not what the team needs right now, and the team is not right for him right now.
Good points. I don’t think a rebuild is going to take until Hart is 30-32. Hockey has too many examples of teams sneaking into the playoffs making a run — often behind a hot goaltender. Look at the Panthers this year. The eight seed that barely snuck in and now they’re four games from winning the Cup. Maybe that’s an extreme example but it’s a real one. I don’t think Briere will trade Hart but we don’t know what kind of GM he’s going to be. Will he be conservative or a wheeler-dealer. I think it’s fine to listen but unless someone offers you the moon, sit back.
Thanks for your excellent comments. They were a pleasure to read.
CB
I disagree his value is the reason we trade him!
It should help speed up the rebuild and Ersson is already looking like he could be a goalie of the future which is why I think a good amount of fans and the flyers are open to trading Hart. Even if Ersson isn’t the guy there is Kolosov looking good in the KHL and they can always pick some goalies in the next couple drafts. If the flyers keep Hart he is going to be pushing 30 by time the teams competitive is it really worth missing out on the assets he could fetch to have him start for a rebuilding team that becomes competitive when he’s nearing the tail end of his career? I don’t think it makes sense to not trade him unless the offers are terrible but I don’t think they would be.
Thanks for your comments.
Sam Ersson has played 12 NHL games. Too small of a sample size, for me, to determine if he’s the goalie of the future.
Someone sent me an interesting comment. The reader said the Flyers should trade Hart because he is a mediocre goalie. So, what kind of return do you think the Flyers will receive for a mediocre goalie? It’s fun hearing all of the different viewpoints and I appreciate folks writing in.
CB
12 games is a small sample size for sure but I think the flyers wanted to get him in a lot more games but due to the contract situation were unable too.
I’m not going to speculate over a return for a mediocre goalie he wouldn’t be traded to a team that views him as one. I think Briere would be quite happy with Hart-Ersson duo if there isn’t a worth while offer.