2024-25 Flyers Player Grades: Garnet Hathaway was more disciplined

Garnet Hathaway delivered a decent amount of energy, checking, chippiness and production in 2024-25 before a head injury put a fly in the ointment.

Dec 31, 2024; San Jose, California, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Garnet Hathaway (19) warms up before the game against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The final year of Philadelphia’s right winger Garnet Hathway two-year contract (the two-year extension with a team-friendly $25,000 raise kicks in this season) had some highs and lows. One upside is that he wasn’t quite the unhinged bull in the china shop that he was in 2023-24, with only 58 minutes in penalties compared to 132 the year before. He also had his second-best season in his career points-wise with 21. It’s conceivable he could’ve eclipsed his career-high of 26 points had he remained healthy. Unfortunately, the huge fly in the ointment was a head injury, namely a concussion on a reckless hit by Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bokondji Imama, a borderline fourth-line enforcer who has made a living being a “tough guy.” Former coach John Tortorella described it as “one of the dirtiest hits” he saw in some time.

However, in the 67 games he was healthy, and for the cap hit he came with ($2.375 million AAV, which moves to $2.4 million AAV for 2025-26), Hathaway was everything you could’ve hoped for. He remained a busybody, hitting anything and everything that moved and getting into post-whistle scrums. But rarely going over the line and putting himself in the sin bin. Basically, he was everything you’d want in a fourth-line winger: energy, physical and chipping in offensively from time to time. And while not listed in the stats line below, Hathaway had half of the Flyers shorthanded goals this year with a pair. He was also ninth in the league in hits with 257.

After signing a two-year extension last July, Hathaway entered the season with a bit more security. After getting an assist in the season-opening win over Vancouver and getting a pair of assists against the Kraken on the same opening road trip, the forward got his first goal of the season on Halloween against the Blues. His ice time was between 11 to 12 minutes per game on average, or about what you’d expect from a fourth line forward. In November he scored against the Panthers in a 4-3 shootout loss. The goal wasn’t quite as noteworthy as the game-winner he had against Florida the season before, but a goal is a goal for any bottom-six skater. He scored against Florida again on Jan. 13, a 4-3 win

In terms of his underlying metrics Hathaway saw a decline in chances for (45.27 in 2024-25 versus 50.61 the previous season), expected goals percentage (56.12 in 2023-24 versus 51.13 in 2024-25), and a slight dip in high danger chances for percentage (54.79 compared to 56.90 in 2023-24). But Hathaway provided a lot of intangibles, particularly considering he played with a handful of different centers (Karsen Dorwart, Sean Couturier, Rodrigo Abols, Noah Cates, Ryan Poehling among others) and more than a handful of wingers (Nic Deslauriers, Scott Laughton, Joel Farabee, Jakob Pelletier, Olle Lycksell).

In terms of the per 60 statistics, Hathaway was basically similar to other bottom-six or fourth-line forwards. He was more of an energy player than a point producer, with his total shots for the season the second-lowest among forwards who played regularly during the season. Only Ryan Poehling had fewer shots (71 shots over 68 games) in 2024-25.

Although he scored 10 goals this season, perhaps Hathaway’s biggest highlight goal was essentially being at the right place at the right time. Against the Blues, Poehling dipsy-doodled through a few Blues forwards and fed Hathaway a great pass. Hathaway buried it but you’d swear from the reaction Poehling scored the goal.

The second half of the season was far more trying for Hathaway. Despite averaging a little bit more ice time in some games (including almost 17 minutes against Utah on Feb. 4), Hathaway suffered a bad injury from the Imama hit. Hathaway appeared to hit his head on the ice after the unsuspecting hit, and left the ice with some Flyers and the training staff assisting him. The “upper body injury” kept him out of the lineup for nearly all of March, returning March 31 against Nashville. By then the Flyers were all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, with Farabee, Morgan Frost, Andrei Kuzmenko, Scott Laughton and Erik Johnson no longer on the team. His final goal of the season was against Ottawa on April 13, one of three multi-point games he had over the course of 67 games.

Despite the season ending without any post-season play, Hathaway was Philadelphia’s nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, an award given for leadership both on and off the ice and making a difference in communities with humanitarian efforts. Although he didn’t win the Trophy, the recognition was proof the Flyers have a “good guy” in the locker room and off the ice.

Three questions

Did they live up to expectations?

Garnet Hathaway basically did everything he’s known for. He got under the skin of opponents, often found himself in front of the opposing goaltender stirring crap up, or generally being a pest while putting in the odd goal from time to time. For the cap hit and what he brings to the Flyers on and off the ice, it would appear that the upcoming contract is money fairly well spent. The only flaw obviously was the Imama hit which put him out of the lineup for just over a month. Hopefully there’s no lingering effects during the summer so he can enter training camp at 100 per cent.

What can we expect from him next season?

The key issue for Hathaway this coming season will be seeing if he’s still able to be a credible fourth-liner and penalty killer when required. It’s doubtful he’s pushed to the side like Deslauriers was most of the season. But the Flyers should also have a few more people vying for a handful of roster spots. Of course that means it isn’t a guarantee Hathaway will have the same role next season as he did this one. Particularly if a new head coach not named Brad Shaw has his own plans for the roster.

How do we grade his 2023-24 season?

In a year that saw a lot of turnover on the roster, a lot of people knocking on the door to make the cut after training camp, and the turnover behind the bench, Garnet Hathaway was a stabilizing presence. Injury aside, Hathaway did everything you would expect him to do while having one of his better points total. Although he had a few lulls and had far more goalless streaks than goal streaks, Garnet Hathaway was a credible role player for a team still turning a corner towards contention.

Grade: C+