Goaltender Carter Hart, one of five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior team recently acquitted following a sexual assault trial, is joining the Vegas Golden Knights.
The NHL team announced the move in a statement Thursday. Details of the arrangement were not disclosed, but multiple media reports said Carter signed a professional tryout agreement.
Hart remains suspended by the NHL until Dec. 1 but was able to sign with a team starting Wednesday while waiting for reinstatement.
“The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision,” the team said in a statement. “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, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with one count of sexual assault stemming from an encounter with a woman after a 2018 gala celebrating the Canadian world junior team’s gold medal. McLeod was also charged with one count of being a party to the offence.
The five players were acquitted July 24 in a trial in London, Ont.
Hart is the first of the five players to sign with an NHL team. McLeod has since signed with a team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, while Formenton is playing in Switzerland.
Lawyer for Carter Hart says trial’s outcome was ‘not just predictable, but predicted’
The 27-year-old Hart, from Sherwood Park, Alta., played his first six NHL seasons in Philadelphia, where he had a 96-93-29 record with a 2.94 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and six shutouts in 227 games.
He took an indefinite leave from the club on Jan. 23, 2024, before surrendering to police in London. He became an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 season when the Flyers did not extend him a qualifying offer.
The Golden Knights, among the favourites to win this season’s Stanley Cup, have split goaltending duties between Adin Hill and Akira Schmid this season.
Hill has struggled with two extra-time losses, a 3.60 GAA and an .845 save percentage in three appearances. But Schmid has posted two wins, a 1.80 GAA and a .929 save percentage over two appearances.
