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Why The Toronto Maple Leafs Shouldn’t Pursue Carter Hart

By Mitchell Hartman

Apr 8, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) makes a save against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports /
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An exciting offseason awaits the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with a new GM at the helm, some significant moves could be coming very soon.

Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Flyers made it be known that they were hearing offers for their young goaltender, Carter Hart. This brought up the question, should the Toronto Maple Leafs pursue this potential star goalie?

The short answer is no. Don’t get me wrong, I love Carter Hart, even going back to when he played for Team Canada at the World Juniors. But if the Leafs are going to make a big trade this offseason, I don’t think Hart is the right guy to pursue.

Here’s why the Leafs shouldn’t pursue him.

Why The Toronto Maple Leafs Should Not Pursue Carter Hart

Carter Hart is a young goalie with extremely high potential and has played somewhat solidly in his career so far despite being on the trainwreck called the Philadelphia Flyers. What team wouldn’t want a goalie at this age, just entering their prime?

To that question, I say the Leafs, because they already have a young goalie with immense talent.

That goalie is none other than Joseph Woll. Not only is Woll the same age as Hart, but he has also outperformed him at the NHL level so far (although it is a smaller sample size). Woll has a career NHL GAA of 2.38 and a SV% of .924. Whereas Hart owns a career GAA of 2.96 and a SV% of .906. As mentioned before, Woll has of course played fewer games, but Hart’s stats are decent at best. (stats. nhl.com)

If the Flyers are smart they’ll sell high (and seeing the huge haul they got for Ivan Provorov, they’ll likely want a big package for Hart) on their young goalie, and acquiring him would cost the Leafs a ton of assets.

The Leafs already have multiple trustworthy goaltenders. On top of Woll, they also have Ilya Samsonov, who is coming off a solid season of his own. Heck, even Matt Murray and Erik Kallgren are solid goalies when needed.

While I do love Carter Hart, and he probably has a higher ceiling than Woll does, he is not the right player the Leafs should go after in a trade. The Leafs are better off using their assets for a top-6 forward or a d-man, not a goalie.

Next. The Leafs Can't Extend Sheldon Keefe. dark

Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see where Hart ends up and if he becomes the franchise goaltender people envision him to be.

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