Carter Hart knows that next season will bring brighter days for Flyers

The young Flyers goaltender battled through a tough year, but promises to be better next season.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Carter Hart knows that next season will bring brighter days for Flyers
Sportsnet

It wasn't the season that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was envisioning. 

Hart compiled 9-11-5 record with a rather pedestrian 3.67 goals against average and .877 save percentage in 27 games. He was then forced to miss the final 13 games of the schedule with a sprained MCL. Meanwhile, backup goaltender Brian Elliott managed to compile a 15-9-2 record, though it wasn't enough to propel the Flyers into the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

However, don't count the young goaltender out. He certainly isn't. 

"I think for me, I believe in myself. I believe I can be a top goaltender in this League," Hart explained during Philadelphia's season-ending press conference earlier today. "I'm looking forward to a great offseason of training and get settled back in with my family and friends and get a good plan going forward for this offseason."

Of course, the Flyers were negatively affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with several players landing on the protocol list at various points during the season, as well as having games postponed.

"I think just this year was challenging for everyone, tough circumstances with COVID and everything," Hart said. "Some guys, it didn't affect them and some more than others."

For Hart, who lived in solitude away from his family this season, it was naturally a difficult experience.

"It can be a little difficult when you live alone and just go back and forth from the rink to your apartment every day," he said. "Near the end, it was getting better. I was hanging out with the boys a lot more, I was getting invited over for dinners....things like that make it so much easier in a weird year." 

"You're just in your thoughts the whole time because you're just sitting in your apartment alone."

According to GM Chuck Fletcher, Hart is "basically back to full health", and will soon begin his offseason training program. The adversity that he and his teammates went through this season will only make them stronger coming in to next year - and he wants fans to know that. 

"For sure. I think going forward this will only help me with my career going into next season," Hart explained. "Like I said, I'll have a great summer of training and I'll be ready for next year. I'll have a clean slate for next year, I know we'll be better."