The Vegas Golden Knights announced Thursday they agreed to a contract with goaltender Carter Hart, who was one of the five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team who were found not guilty in July of sexually assaulting a woman in 2018.
Vegas released a statement along with its announcement:
“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. The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision. 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.”
Hart, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod were all found not guilty in a verdict in which Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia said prosecutors were unable to meet the burden of proof of the allegations.
The Associated Press noted police initially closed their investigation without charges in 2019 but reopened it after the complainant sued Hockey Canada in 2022. Hockey Canada ended up settling the lawsuit.
The players were then charged in 2024. Four of them were on NHL rosters at the time, while Formenton was playing for HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland’s National League. The players took a “leave of absence” following the charges and were then not tendered qualifying offers after the 2023-24 campaign.
Last month, the NHL announced the players were eligible to sign contracts starting Oct. 15 and can play in games starting Dec. 1.
“The events that transpired after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala in London, Ontario, prior to these players’ arrival in the NHL, were deeply troubling and unacceptable,” the league said in its statement. “The League expects everyone connected with the game to conduct themselves with the highest level of moral integrity. And, in this case, while found not to have been criminal, the conduct of the players involved certainly did not meet that standard.”
According to the statement, the NHL also opened its own third-party investigation in 2022 but paused it in 2024 when criminal charges were filed.Â
“In relying on both our own investigation, and the conclusions reached by Justice Carroccia in her opinion, and the players’ acquittal, the League has determined that the conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the League and its Member Clubs expect and demand,” it said.
The NHL explained it evaluated the entire situation, the acquittal in court and the reality the players have been away from the game for 20 months and came up with the timeline it did since being eligible to play in games starting in December would mean approximately two years out of the league.
Hart previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2018-19 through 2023-24 and appeared in 227 games with 218 starts. He has a career save percentage of .906 and a goals against average of 2.94.
Vegas is off to a 2-0-2 start to the 2025-26 season and next plays against the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
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