The Flyers made a bit of news Monday morning by announcing they’d signed franchise netminder Carter Hart to a new 3-year, $11.937m deal:

As the news of the agreement began breaking via insiders, the contract’s AAV stood out with a nod to the 22-year-old’s number:

Hart, of course, wears #79, which has its own sentimental story. The structure of the deal is a bit team-friendly in the first and second years with an uptick leading up to the third year:

To put things into a bit of perspective, the belief entering negotiations was that the team and player would come to an agreement between $3.5-4m this off-season on a three or four year deal. This all tracks with that line of thinking.

Per CapFriendly, Hart’s $3.2m cap hit for the 2021-22 season will make him  the 28th-highest paid goalie in the league:

Courtesty: CapFriendly

Now, the real question is whether or not Hart will live up to the $4.479m number he’s set to earn in 2023-24, which as of now would be the 13th-highest cap hit among goalies for those already under contract.

Optimists will point to Hart’s first full season in which his 1.63 GAA and .943 SV% at home were the best in the entire NHL, while his 20 home wins were tied for the most among goalies in the same 2019-20 season.

On the other hand, one should also consider the woeful road numbers he posted that season, including a staggering 3.81 GAA and .857 SV%. Combine that with a 2020 season that saw his play fall off regardless of venue, with a 3.67 GAA and .877 SV% overall, and it’s probably fair to wonder aloud which side will ultimately look better at the end of this contract. To the Flyers’ credit, they’ve seen GM Chuck Fletcher overhaul large portions of the roster, especially at the blue line, acquiring Ryan Ellis from Nashville, Rasmus Ristolainen from Buffalo, and Keith Yandle via free agency.

Now the onus to perform has fallen back onto Carter Hart to rebound in a big way in 2021-22. The front office has done its job. Will he earn his new deal? Time will tell.

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