Carter Hart appears to be moving towards signing with the Vegas Golden Knights, according to TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston.
Johnston reported in The Athletic on Wednesday that the former Philadelphia Flyers netminder is close to signing a new contract and that the Golden Knights are “almost certain” to be the eventual team he signs with.
Hart is one of five players acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018 when they were members of Canada’s world junior team, and who will be eligible to sign an NHL contract Oct. 15 and take part in games Dec. 1.
Hart, Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were all found not guilty by a judge this summer in their high-profile trial in London, Ont. The National Hockey League said in a statement following the verdict on July 24 by Justice Maria Carroccia that even though the players were found not guilty, their actions were “unacceptable”, and the players were ineligible to return to the league while it reviewed the decision.
The league announced earlier in September that all five players acquitted would be eligible to agree to contracts with teams as of Oct. 1, sign the contracts by Oct. 15 and appear in regular-season games as of Dec. 1.
Four of the players (Dube, Foote, Hart and McLeod) were playing in the NHL until charges were announced during the 2023-24 season and are currently unrestricted free agents. Formenton has been out of the league since 2022 and rejoined Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta earlier in September.
The potential move to add any of the players acquitted has been met with varied reactions around the league. Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said that Hart’s agent had informed the team that the goaltender was seeking a “fresh start” and would not be rejoining the franchise, while Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman also ruled out signing Hart. The Utah Mammoth had internal discussions on potentially adding him, per Johnston, but are no longer part of the process.
Hart, 27, had a 12-9-3 record with the Flyers with a .906 save percentage and a 2.80 goals-against average in 26 games during the 2023-24 season.
He carried a cap hit of $3.98 million on his most recent contract, which expired in 2024.
In 227 career NHL games, all with the Flyers, Hart has a 96-93-29 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. He was selected 48th overall in the 2016 draft.