Philadelphia Flyers: 5 biggest questions for the 2020-21 season

Carter Hart is the goalie Philadelphia Flyers fans have waited decades for

Not since Ron Hextall have the Philadelphia Flyers felt so confident in a young goaltender. They had Anthony Stolarz fail to meet expectations, the Illya Bryzgalov debacle, and a mix of veterans who either held down the fort or completely knocked it down.

The NHL and Flyers fans have impatiently waited for Carter Hart to arrive since he was drafted 48th overall in 2016. He’s mature beyond his years, both as a player and as a person. He’s invested his time and energy into having the mental skills needed to push past a bad game and to carry himself through tremendous success at a young age.

There’s a lot of pressure on Hart to be the next Hextall or Bernie Parent in Philadelphia thanks to the years of misfortune fans have suffered through.

It’s unfair to put that on a 22-year-old with only 74 NHL appearances under himself, but he’s got the talent to be “the guy” for a team with high expectations. He’s met those expectations with a career 2.59 goals against and a .915 save percentage in 74 games.

If we want to be really unfair, if Hart holds those numbers through his 100th game, he’d be among the best in league history in both save percentage and goals against. Bernie Parent finished his career with a .915 S% and a 2.55 GA in 271 games.

Dominik Hasek holds the current record with a .922 save percentage and the second-best goals-against at 2.20 in 16 seasons.

Again, no pressure.

In the event something terribly bad happens, Philadelphia does have Brian Elliott back, who has proven to be a capable goaltender when Hart gets a day off.