{"id":137404,"date":"2025-09-12T09:47:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T09:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/137404\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T09:47:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T09:47:09","slug":"carter-harts-nhl-comeback-feels-dead-in-the-water-after-bottom-tier-save-numbers-and-a-lost-season-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/137404\/","title":{"rendered":"Carter Hart\u2019s NHL comeback feels dead in the water after bottom-tier save numbers and a lost season | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CarterCarter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Wells Fargo (Image Source – Getty Images) Carter Hart is on a rocky road back to the NHL<\/a> after a tough time. He was cleared of sexual assault charges from a 2018 incident with Hockey Canada\u2019s World Junior team, and the NHL announced on September 11, 2025, that he can return to the league on December 1, 2025. But with his lackluster performance in the last NHL season (2023-24), where he was 21st in goals-against average and 22nd in save percentage among qualified goaltenders, plus almost two years off the ice, there\u2019s a lot of uncertainty about his chances of making a comeback.<\/p>\n

The NHL delayed its formal reaction while launching an independent investigation into the players\u2019 conduct<\/p>\n

The acquittal was initially reported in July 2025 by news outlets following the trial. USA Today confirmed that Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote were acquitted of sexual assault charges associated with the 2018 incident.It was also noted that the players were cleared of charges concerning an alleged group sexual assault. These first reports, stemming from court results, marked the first public disclosure after months of scarce updates due to legal limitations.In the weeks after, further details surfaced. Hockey Canada, which encountered major backlash and shifts in leadership following the scandal in 2022, put out statements that acknowledged the verdict and stressed the need for reforms in player conduct policies.According to the Wikipedia article about the spectacle of hockey Canada sexual assault, which was last updated in September 2025, the extent of these police reviews of issues involving junior hockey players in Canada since 1989 informs of the current scrutiny of the organization.The players chose not to speak out at first, though player agents, and legal counsel had their say. There was also a delay in the NHL to formally react, because they launched their own investigation, independent of the criminal case.<\/p>\n

The NHL\u2019s official statement and eligibility timeline<\/p>\n

On September 11, 2025, the NHL came out with a statement from Commissioner Gary Bettman, released via the league\u2019s communications department. The statement acknowledged that the players were acquitted but pointed out that their actions “didn\u2019t live up to what\u2019s expected” from NHL personnel. In agreement with the NHL Players\u2019 Association (NHLPA), the league suspended the players until December 1, 2025, but allowed them to sign contracts starting October 15, 2025, and to start training on November 15, 2025.Reports say that the NHL is letting the five players who were acquitted come back. The New York Post shared the timeline, mentioning that contract signings can kick off on October 15 and games can start again on December 1.It was quoted from the NHL, \u201cFive Canadian hockey players acquitted of sexual assault charges will be eligible to return to the league on December 1\u201d. USA Today listed the players\u2019 names and confirmed the return date.Also Read: \u201cI\u2019ve got to fight for a job too\u201d\u2014 Brayden Yager brings confidence to Winnipeg Jets rookie training camp<\/a>Since Hart has been missing since January 2024 and his stats for the 2023-24 season are pretty lackluster, it\u2019s still up in the air whether he\u2019ll return to the Flyers or sign with another NHL team. Teams are likely weighing his performance against the risks to their reputation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Wells Fargo (Image Source…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,23434,23437,94524,22599,24282,575,29311,94523,94522,74809,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-137404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-carter-hart","11":"tag-flyers","12":"tag-goaltender-statistics","13":"tag-hockey-canada","14":"tag-independent-investigation","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-nhl-comeback","17":"tag-nhl-players-association","18":"tag-nhl-return-date","19":"tag-sexual-assault-charges","20":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}