Earlier this week, the NHL announced that the five Hockey Canada players who were found not guilty of sexual assault earlier this summer would be suspended to December 1st but would be eligible to sign an NHL contract as of October 15th. It appears that goaltender Carter Hart will get an opportunity to continue his career; Chris Johnston reports in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link) that Hart is expected to receive interest from multiple teams and should have a handshake deal in place by the start of next month.
Hart last played near the midway point of the 2023-24 season before taking a leave from the team when charges were about to be laid. Then, when his contract expired, the Flyers didn’t issue a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The 27-year-old has played in 227 career NHL contests, all with the Flyers who drafted him in the second round back in 2016. Hart started off quite strong with Philadelphia before his performance started to dip, coinciding with their struggles in the standings. Overall, he has a 2.94 GAA along with a .906 SV% and six shutouts over his six-season career.
While there has been some speculation that the Flyers could look to bring him back, Johnston suggests that’s unlikely to be the case as Hart is believed to be looking for a fresh start. Meanwhile, Philadelphia already has Samuel Ersson and newcomer Daniel Vladar in the fold while prospect Aleksei Kolosov will also be in camp with the team, as will Ivan Fedotov who looks like a waiver candidate as things stand.
Johnston added that Hart is almost certainly going to sign with a U.S.-based team which would take the long-speculated possibility of the netminder signing with his hometown team in Edmonton. There were no teams specified as likely landing spots but his priorities are finding a team with a chance to win but also provides him a chance at meaningful playing time.
Despite the long layoff, Johnston expects that Hart will get a multi-year contract from whoever he signs with. That said, it would be surprising if he received more than the $3.979MM he was making with the Flyers on his last contract so it might be in Hart’s best interest to look for a shorter-term pact if he is able to be an impact performer with his next team.
Even if an agreement is reached by the start of next month, he’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to officially sign it. From there, Hart would be able to practice with the team for a month to work on conditioning before being granted a conditioning stint in mid-November where he will see his first taste of AHL action since 2019.
Carter Hart will face alot of rubber this season in Edmonton, Not only are the Oilers overrated, They are the oldest team in the league.
The truth is that SA is hard to prove in court because of the nature of the legal system and how evidence is used in trials and, many times, men who do bad things will still walk away. There is, quite often, a huge difference between acquittal and exoneration.
That is not at all what happened here.
There is not a shred of evidence or even a cogent theory of what these men did wrong to justify a continued suspension.
What is Marty Walsh doing? The PA will defend criminal thugs like Chris Simon and Tom Wilson when they assault their other members but won’t stick up for these guys…?
This is all a joke, As you correctly pointed out, But the NHL has to pretend they care for political, And social reasons, The NHL like any other major corporation has a dark underbelly, But, public perception is very important to them.
Well said. Agreed.
Scotty’s kid will sign him the first chance he gets.
The Crystal Ball is showing Hart to Columbus.
Sabres should be all over Hart…minor league deal and incentives .. their goal Tending is so hot and cold….so why not give Hart a chance
Sabres have Luk, Lyon, Levi and Georgiev
And they all are hot and cold
And so is Hart.
Anyone other than Edmonton would be a big surprise
The Oilers not signing Hart would be on-brand considering they are allergic to competent goalies.
Stan sure does love his scumbags though.
Pleased to see these men getting the second chance they deserve.
NHL is just another american corporation. If they think players can help the make money and win. They will sign. If Stan Bowman can still work in NHL. Clearly morals mean nothing.
I have no gripes with Bowman working. He was punished, but I also don’t look to sports or business for moral clarity…
You will whine about a corporation having no morals yet, instead of taking a stand, you will support said corporation. Would that mean that you are lacking morals? A hypocrite? Weak?
It’s now being widely reported that the 5 players involved in the Hockey Canada witch hunt are only interested in signing with U.S. based NHL clubs. Good for them, Who can blame them.