When the Vegas Golden Knights signed Carter Hart to a two-year, $4 million deal, the move was framed as a low-risk gamble with potential upside. Fresh off his acquittal in the Hockey Canada trial and nearly two years removed from the NHL, Hart was looking for a fresh start. A team that has never really been concerned with optics, Vegas was looking for stability in net.
Ironically, it’s not Hart’s off-ice history that makes this deal look like a mistake now. It’s his on-ice production and the fact that the Golden Knights might be looking for a goalie at the deadline.
Hart seemed OK early, including a solid debut in a 4-3 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He stopped 27 of 30 shots, and some analysts wondered if the Golden Knights had done well again by picking up a player most other teams steered clear of.
Things quickly went south. 12 starts and an injury later, the results suggest the Golden Knights might have made a mistake. Hart’s 5-3-3 record, 3.28 goals-against average, and an .871 save percentage have put the team in a situation where they are reportedly looking for an upgrade in goal.
Hart has allowed 36 goals on 279 shots, numbers well below league average. The idea that he’s going to somehow bounce back to anywhere close to his career .904 save percentage feels like a stretch. Tyler Miller of Sports Illustrated writes, “Vegas’s big strength when they are fully healthy is their forward lines and their top 4 defensemen. So the big thing that they should look at upgrading it’s goaltender.”
If Miller is correct, and Akira Schmid and Adin Hill continue to have less-than-stellar seasons, it suggests the Golden Knights don’t have faith that Hart will return after the Olympic break and provide much assistance. Rough stretches have defined his short Vegas tenure, including a late-December skid in which he surrendered 16 goals on 94 shots over four games. Those kinds of numbers make their lack of confidence logical. So too, if there is concern that Hart’s lower-body injury will linger—originally labeled week-to-week, he was later placed on injured reserve—how much can they count on him?
If Vegas explores the trade market for a more proven option before the deadline, his role could shrink significantly. From there, no one should expect a team that abandons contracts like passengers leaving a sinking ship; what was supposed to be a comeback story may instead become a short run with little prospects in the future.
What Hart immediately does when he returns from the break may dictate what the Golden Knights do at the deadline. If they act first, it might be the end of the road for Carter Hart.
Next: Game Over: Is Patrik Laine the Odd Man Out in Montreal?
Discover more from NHL Trade Talk
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
