Bad news for Carter Hart? Golden Knights who don’t want to wait

When the Vegas Golden Knights signed Carter Hart to a two-year deal worth $4 million, the move was presented 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. Vegas, a team that has never really concerned itself with optics, was looking for stability in net.

Ironically, it’s not Hart’s off-ice history that now makes this deal look like a mistake. It’s due to his on-ice production and the fact that the Golden Knights may be looking to add a goaltender before the deadline.

Hart looked fine 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 went south quickly. Twelve starts and an injury later, the results suggest the Golden Knights may have made a mistake. Hart’s record of 5-3-3, 3.28 goals against average and .871 save percentage has put the team in a situation where they are reportedly looking for an upgrade in goal.

Hart allowed 36 goals on 279 shots, numbers well below league average. The idea that he will somehow return to anywhere near his career .904 save percentage feels like a challenge. Sports Illustrated’s Tyler Miller writes“Vegas’ big strength when fully healthy is their forwards and their top four defensemen, so the biggest thing they need to look at is upgrading their goaltender.”

If Miller is right, and Akira Schmid and Adin Hill continue to have less-than-stellar seasons, it suggests the Golden Knights don’t have confidence that Hart will return after the Olympic break and provide much help. Rough stretches have defined his brief stint in Vegas, including a late December slide in which he conceded 16 goals on 94 shots in four games. Those kinds of numbers make their lack of confidence logical. And if there are concerns that Hart’s lower-body injury will continue – 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 to cancel contracts like passengers abandoning a sinking ship; what should have been a comeback story could instead become a short run with little prospects in the future.

What Hart does immediately upon returning from the break could determine what the Golden Knights do at the deadline. If they act first, it could be the end of the road for Carter Hart.

Next: Game Over: Is Patrik Laine the odd one out in Montreal?