Carter Hart's mystery illness irking Flyers goaltender is finally under treatment

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Dec 17, 2023 15:24 GMT

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart has been struggling with a mystery illness, which has plagued him with recurrent bouts of sickness. Regarding the mystery illness, Hart said this during a recent interview:

"It has been going on for a while. I used to never get sick, and now I think I've been sick three times in the last month, so something is going on."

The Flyers' goalie missed Thursday's game due to the unknown illness, raising concerns about his well-being.

Sitting in his locker stall after the morning skate on Saturday, Hart felt relief for finally understanding the root cause of his health issues.

"Now I can take the right steps to treat it and fix it and feel better going forward," he explained.

Despite his willingness to address the problem, Hart respectfully declined to disclose the specific nature of the illness affecting him.

His recent health challenges were why he was absent during the Flyers' back-to-back games against the Ducks and Kings in California last month.

Hart was first told that food poisoning was the cause of his absence from ice. However, the goalie disagreed with the diagnosis, stating,

"I don't know. [The illness] could have been related, for sure. It has been similar symptoms to what has been going on the last two times, as well."

Due to the incorrect diagnosis, the uncertainty surrounding Hart's illness still lingered. It prompted Hart to reevaluate previous instances of sickness, including a missed practice before the season.

The 25-year-old goaltender emphasized the importance of understanding the issue to implement the correct treatment and corrective measures:

"It's just dealing with it, taking care of it, and I'm on the right track to get rid of this. Hopefully, get past it and feel a lot better going forward."

Flyers' goaltender Carter Hart's resilience shines despite health setbacks

Notably, Carter Hart looked noticeably thinner after the morning skate. He acknowledged that he had lost a fair amount of weight. However, he downplayed concerns about gaining it back, focusing instead on his recovery. Despite the challenges, Hart served as the backup to Samuel Ersson for the Flyers' game in Nashville on Tuesday. His father, John, attended the game during the team's dads' trip.

Reflecting on the support from his father and the positive outcome of discovering the root cause of his illness, Hart said,

"It was too bad that my dad didn't get to see me play on the dads' trip, but at least he was here keeping me company when I was sick. At least I got to spend good time with him. To find out the results with my dad made it a lot easier."

Despite the health setbacks, Hart has demonstrated resilience on the ice. In his last three starts, he boasted a 3-0-0 record, a 1.30 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage. On the season, he holds a 9-6-1 record with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.