Carter Hart signs bridge extension with Flyers

On the heels of a disappointing season, Carter Hart's major payday will have to wait.

The Philadelphia Flyers netminder and restricted free agent has signed a three-year bridge extension worth just short of $12 million. Hart, turning 23 this week, will earn $3.979 million annually, which does stand to be a considerable raise on his entry-level contract originally signed back in 2016.

It's also a fairly unprecedented number, as pointed out by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

Hart labored through by far the worst season of his career last season in 27 starts. He posted a woeful .877 save percentage after keeping a .915 mark through his first two seasons with the Flyers. Philadelphia won just nine times in his appearances.

He will now work in tandem next season with former San Jose Sharks starter Martin Jones, who was bought out this summer before signing a one-year, $2-million deal with the Flyers. Jones posted slightly better numbers compared to Hart last season, but doesn't have the track record to lean on — or one which would suggest he's a prime bounce-back candidate. Jones has now posted three consecutive seasons with an identical .896 total save percentage, which is well below the league average.

Hart's readiness for the No. 1 starter's position has been a talking point since he broke into the league as a 20-year-old, and it continues now. It's possible the long layoffs and condensed schedules contributed to the struggles of a goalie working through the inevitable learning curve involved in the transition to bonafide NHL starter.

Very few prospects make the leap in their early 20s, and even fewer under the circumstances that Hart did.

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