Former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart is looking to get his NHL career back on track.
Hart, who is 27 years old, was looked upon as a blue-chip prospect capable of big things when, in 2016, he was drafted 48th overall by the Flyers.
During his career, Hart made his Flyers debut on December 18, 2018, which came in a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings.
In six seasons with the Flyers, Hart would play in 227 games, where he posted a 227-96-93-29 record which included six shutouts along with a 2.94 GAA and a .906 save percentage.
Eventually, on January 23, 2024, in what would prove to be the beginning of the end to Hart’s tenure in the city of Brotherly Love, Hart unexpectantly got permission to leave the team for personal reasons.
Hart who last played in an NHL game in January 2024, had lots more to worry about than hockey when, in June 2018, he along with four Team Canada World Junior Championship teammates were involved in a sexual assault scandal which years later was revealed and rocked the hockey world and all of Canada.
The night in question was June 19th when a woman accused five players from the Canadian 2018 World Junior gold medal hockey team of sexual assault in a London, Ontario hotel room. At the time, they were in town as part of Hockey Canada’s gala celebrating the team’s gold medal win at that year’s World Junior Tournament.
Eventually on July 24, 2025, in a London, Ontario courthouse, these five players, who consisted of Hart, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote, were acquitted and could once again play in the NHL.
Instead of resuming his career with the Flyers, Hart expressed a desire for a fresh start and has recently signed a professional tryout contract with the Golden Knights.
“Following the reinstatement decision agreed on by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association, goaltender Carter Hart will be joining the Vegas Golden Knights organization,” Vegas said. “We remain committed to the core values that have defined our organization from its inception and expect that our players will continue to meet these standards moving forward.”
Goalie Carter Hart signs PTO with Vegas Golden Knights
Hart Can’t Come Back to NHL Until December 1st
Despite the fact that all five players were acquitted and permitted to once again be an NHL player, they had to wait until October 15th before signing with a team and they can’t play that first game back until December 1st.
Prior to Hart joining the Golden Knights, Flyers GM Daniel Briere commented on the possibilities of Hart coming back to Philadelphia by saying,
“The only comment I’ll make on that is that his representative has reached out and told us that they felt that it was better for them to look for a fresh start.”
Naturally, the NHL did an intense investigation into the sexual assault scandal and taking into account various interviews, one-on-one conversations with the accused players, along with the final verdict, decided to extend the players’ suspension a little longer which turned out to be until December.
“The league is now confronted with how best to respond to all that has happened-the conduct of the players, the criminal proceedings, and the acquittal of the players. Each of the players, based on in-person meetings with the League following the verdicts, expressed regret and remorse for his actions.
Nevertheless, we believe their conduct requires formal League-imposed discipline. Given their conduct, we carefully evaluated the players’ acquittal in court and the time spent away from the game. Taking into account that the players have been away from the game for 20 months, including since their acquittals in July-we have determined that the players will eligible to sign an NHL contract no sooner than October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games no sooner than December 1, 2025, bringing their total time out of the league to nearly two years,” the league has confirmed.
Currently, Hart is the First of the Five Suspended 2018 Team Canada World Junior Players to Have Signed an NHL Contract
Upon signing that PTO, Hart won’t be able to begin conditioning with Vegas until November 15th and will more than likely see his first game on December 2nd when the Golden Knights are at home to play the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. Signing with Vegas could work out well for Hart given that their starting goalie, Adin Hill suffered a lower-body injury in a recent 4-2 win in Calgary against the Flames. Hill only played the first period and no timetable has been set for his return as the Golden Knights finished up with backup Akira Schmid.
Hart, who signed a two-year contract worth $1.8 million per season will no doubt hear his fair share of criticism and backlash from fans as he will have to once again win them over with his performance.
Main Image: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
