Carter Hart requested and was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday for personal reasons.
"The club will have no further comment at this time," general manager Daniel Briere said in a statement released by the Flyers.
The 25-year-old goalie is 12-9-3 with a 2.80 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and one shutout in 26 games (25 starts) this season. Hart and Samuel Ersson had alternated starts since Jan. 10. He last played Jan. 20, when he made 10 saves on 15 shots before Ersson (eight saves) replaced him in the third period of a 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Goalie Cal Petersen was recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, when the Flyers lost 6-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Philadelphia (25-17-6) is second in the Metropolitan Division, five points behind the New York Rangers and one ahead of the third-place Carolina Hurricanes.
"I just do my thing,” Ersson said after the game Tuesday. “Like I’ve said all year, I'm ready whenever they call upon my name to go in and play. That's all I can think about."
Hart is 96-93-29 with a 2.94 GAA, .906 save percentage and six shutouts in 227 regular-season games (218 starts) since the Flyers chose him in the second round (No. 48) of the 2016 NHL Draft. He is in the final season of a three-year contract ($3.979 million average annual value) he signed Aug. 9, 2021, and can become a restricted free agent.
In 2019-20, Hart's first full season in the NHL, he went 24-13-3 with a 2.42 GAA, .914 save percentage and one shutout in 43 games (40 starts) before the season was paused due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. He started all six games to help the Flyers defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 Eastern Conference First Round. His shutouts in Games 3 and 4 made him the youngest goalie in team history (22 years, five days) and second youngest in NHL history to Harry Lumley of the Detroit Red Wings (18 years, 161 days) to earn them in back-to-back Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Hart was also the first NHL goalie with consecutive postseason shutouts since Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals in Games 6 and 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Final, and first to do it for the Flyers since Michael Leighton against the Canadiens in Games 1 and 2 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Final.
"I'm not going to comment on the situation, but obviously we have full faith in Sammy,” Flyers forward Morgan Frost said. “He's played really good this year."
