Flyers GM Daniel Briere confirms Carter Hart will not return to team after sexual assault charges acquittal

VOORHEES, N.J. — Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said Tuesday the agent for free agent Carter Hart told the team the goalie has ruled out signing with the franchise when he is eligible to return to the NHL next month.

Briere said a reunion with Hart would not happen.

“The only comment I’ll make on that is that his representative, Judd Moldaver, has reached out and kind of told us that in light of everything that happened in the last year and a half with Carter, they felt, and Carter felt, that it was better for them to look for a fresh start,” Briere said. “That’s where it’s at and it’s the only comment I’m going to make on that.”

Hart is one of five players who were acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018 when they were members of Canada’s world junior team. The NHL has since suspended the players until Dec. 1, but they would be eligible to sign contracts on Oct. 15.

The NHL’s decision came roughly seven weeks after Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were found not guilty by a judge in London, Ont. The Crown told lawyers for the players last month it would not appeal the ruling.

Hart was considered the goalie for the future for the Flyers when he made his debut in 2018. He won 96 games and had six shutouts over a Flyers career that came to abrupt end in January 2024 in the wake of the charges.

All of the players are free agents. McLeod and Foote were with New Jersey, and Dube with Calgary, while Formenton was playing in Europe, and their respective teams let their previous deals expire last year after charges were filed. Formenton, who is property of the Ottawa Senators, has since signed to play with a club in Switzerland.