You don't want to see Carter Hart when he's feeling lazy.
Or at least the rest of the NHL doesn't.
As well as Hart played in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, portraying a seasoned goalie meant for the biggest moments, every now and then we're reminded of his innocent age.
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"He’s a special kid," Derek Grant said in August. "He’s so calm. He puts his mask on, you don’t know how old he is."
Hart turned only 22 years old in August. It is September and the Flyers' focus has shifted to the 2020-21 season following the team's second-round Game 7 loss to the Islanders fewer than two weeks ago. Like any kid with a love for hockey, Hart misses the game. But compared to most kids, he's a little different when he's lazy.
The Flyers' franchise goalie enjoys the game but takes it seriously — everything about it, on the ice and off of it. His precocious preparation goes back to his junior hockey days with the WHL's Everett Silvertips when he was just a teenager. His dietary habits are noble and he greatly values his physical fitness, which includes yoga.
He tried taking a break after the season but boredom struck.
NHL
"I took a week off here from training and started back up yesterday because I just felt so lazy sitting around the house all the time, I needed to do something," Hart said with a slight smile Wednesday in his end-of-the-season video interview. "And then we'll see with ice and stuff, I'll probably take a little bit of time off the ice here to give my body some rest. But we'll just kind of wait and see."
Something tells us he won't be off the ice for too long.
In the regular season, Hart went 24-13-3 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. In the NHL's return-to-play 24-team tournament, Hart went 9-5-0 with a 2.23 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, giving him the best GAA by a Flyers goalie with five or more starts in one playoff run since Roman Cechmanek in 2003 (2.14 GAA in 13 starts).
Hart also went 4-0-0 with 114 saves on 122 shots in games after a loss during the playoffs.
"You look at what he’s been able to do, it’s a tough league for young players, never mind young goaltenders," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said last week in his end-of-the-season video interview. "He showed the ability to win games, he showed the ability to bounce back after tough performances, which you’re always looking for — everybody's going to have tough nights from time to time. His ability to turn the page very quickly was impressive."
Hart is already turning the page on that Game 7 loss.
"This week, I'm just coming back," he said. "I haven't really lifted a lot during the playoffs, so more so just mobility and getting my body accustomed to getting back into working out every day. When you're playing hockey every second day, it can be hard to get your off-ice training in and your weightlifting in, so I think it's important that you just ease yourself back into things and then go from there."
Looks like laziness won't get the best of this kid.