{"id":31280,"date":"2025-07-30T01:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T01:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/31280\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T01:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T01:12:09","slug":"a-non-starter-for-the-edmonton-oilers-carter-harts-nhl-comeback-faces-major-hurdle-despite-acquittal-says-insider-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/31280\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cA non-starter for the Edmonton Oilers\u201d: Carter Hart\u2019s NHL comeback faces major hurdle despite acquittal, says insider | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u201cADespite Carter Hart’s acquittal in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case, his NHL return faces significant hurdles (Getty Images) Despite being cleared of criminal charges in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart\u2019s NHL<\/a> return is far from guaranteed. According to insider Frank Seravalli, Hart remains a \u201cnon-starter\u201d for the Edmonton Oilers and, troublingly, for the rest of the league as well.<\/p>\n

NHL insider reveals league-wide hesitation toward Carter Hart despite court ruling<\/p>\n

In a revealing appearance on B\/R Open Ice, Frank Seravalli explained that Hart’s legal acquittal has not translated into NHL eligibility.\u201cI was told that Carter Hart is a non-starter for the Edmonton Oilers, and beyond that, he’s a non-starter for everyone right now, coming off of his acquittal in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case in court in London, Ontario, as ruled upon last week,\u201d Seravalli said.Hart, along with four other former NHLers, was found not guilty in court. However, Seravalli clarified that the league continues to treat them as \u201cineligible,\u201d with the NHL Commissioner\u2019s office still reviewing the file.\u201cLook, he’s – him and the other four former NHL players have been labeled by the NHL as ineligible, and they’re going to continue to review the file before determining next steps in the commissioner’s office\u2026\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

NHL’s decision lies with Gary Bettman, not the courts<\/p>\n

Even though Hart could technically sign with any team once cleared, the power lies squarely with Commissioner Gary Bettman. The court may have dismissed criminal charges, but it did not absolve the players of actions the league deems \u201cdetrimental.\u201dAs Seravalli emphasized, \u201c\u2026so until they are cleared to play, it’s not even really a conversation worth having, even though the NHLPA has strongly voiced their objection to how the NHL has viewed this situation.\u201dThe critical detail here is that the NHL\u2019s collective bargaining agreement gives Bettman sweeping authority to determine a player’s eligibility, irrespective of courtroom outcomes. That means unless the Commissioner changes his stance, Hart\u2019s NHL career may remain indefinitely on pause.Also Read: Connor McDavid Trade Rumors: NHL MVP might follow Auston Matthews\u2019 lead to control his future in Edmonton<\/a><\/p>\n

FAQs<\/p>\n

1. Can Carter Hart sign with any NHL team now?<\/p>\n

No, not until he\u2019s officially cleared to play by the NHL.<\/p>\n

2. Was Carter Hart found guilty in the Hockey Canada case?<\/p>\n

No, he was acquitted of all criminal charges in court.<\/p>\n

3. Who decides Carter Hart’s eligibility to return?<\/p>\n

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has final say over his playing status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite Carter Hart’s acquittal in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case, his NHL return faces significant hurdles (Getty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,23434,3275,21428,9763,23435,29312,575,29311,29313,29314,85],"class_list":["post-31280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-carter-hart","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-frank-seravalli","tag-gary-bettman","tag-hart","tag-hockey-canada-sexual-assault-case","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-comeback","tag-nhl-commissioner-gary-bettman","tag-nhlpa","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31280","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=31280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}