The Edmonton Oilers and Carter Hart Could Be a Potential Match
It has been a few days since Carter Hart was found not guilty in the Hockey Canada Trial, and his NHL future is currently up in the air. The league has not reinstated Hart or the four other players who were put on trial, and until that happens, he is not eligible for an NHL return. If the league reinstates all the players from the case, Carter Hart would probably receive some interest from NHL clubs. The Edmonton Oilers are a team that makes sense for Hart if he gets reinstated by the league.
Goaltending Is Once Again a Hot Topic For the Oilers
The yearly discussion about Edmonton’s goaltending is upon us once again. Stuart Skinner is one of the most inconsistent goalies in the league, if not the most inconsistent. If the Oilers could use some depth at any position on their team, goaltending would be at the top of the list. The Oilers could look at Hart as a guy who could be brought in on a cheap deal, as he has a lot to prove to himself and to the team that signs him.
The reality for Edmonton is that Skinner and Calvin Pickard’s inconsistencies in the net have been a big reason why they’ve lost consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. The problem is, fixing the goaltending isn’t as easy as it sounds either. Neither Skinner nor Pickard project to be a number one goaltender, but they could thrive in a 1A-1B situation. Carter Hart wouldn’t be a perfect fix, but the Oilers should consider it because, at times, their goaltending looks lost out there.
Signing Hart To a Deal Would Be a Bet On Upside
Signing Carter Hart would be a bet on upside for the Oilers, not certainty. It is fair to point out that there’s no such thing as certainty when it comes to goaltenders, but if the Oilers were going into the offseason looking at options, Carter Hart was most likely not on the list. Before all of this happened, Hart was an above-average goalie for the Flyers, posting a save percentage of over .900 for three seasons in a row.
Carter Hart is probably the best option on the market for Edmonton if he gets reinstated because he’ll get a cheap contract and will have something to prove. In an ideal world, the Oilers probably wanted to go after John Gibson, but he ended up with the Detroit Red Wings.
