Goaltender Carter Hart has agreed to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights, becoming the first of five Canadian 2018 World Juniors to sign an NHL contract since they were acquitted of sexual assault on a high-profile case.
Vegas announced an agreement with undisclosed terms for Hart on Thursday, the second day after the player signing window opened.
Hart and others are ineligible until Dec. 1 as part of the league's reinstatement process for him, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton.
Golden Knights agree with process and evaluation NHL and the NHLPA made their decision,” the team said in a statement. “We remain committed to the core values that have defined our organization since its inception and expect our players to continue to live up to those standards in the future.”
McLeod, who was also found not guilty of an additional charge of complicity in the crime, signed a three-year contract with the Russian KHL. Formenton is playing in Switzerland, although it is unclear if he has an opportunity to return to the NHL, where he has not played since 2022 with Ottawa.
“Each team will have to make their own decision,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday after a meeting of the NHL Board of Governors in New York. “They know the rules. And it's up to them to decide if they want to, subject to those rules, move forward.”
Hart resumes his career at age 27 with the Golden Knights after spending his first six seasons playing for Philadelphia. Last month, the Flyers ruled out bringing back Hart, whose camp told general manager Daniel Briere the best option was to start over.
The players were charged in 2024 in connection with an incident in London, Ontario in 2018. The judge overseeing the trial stated that the prosecution had failed to meet the burden of proof to convict them and that the applicant's allegations lacked the credibility required to substantiate the charges.
The league conducted its own investigation in the spring of 2022 when the allegations came to light. In announcing the terms of reinstatement in September, the NHL called the events “deeply troubling and unacceptable” and, although they were not considered criminal, said the players' conduct did not meet standards of moral integrity.
At the time, the NHLPA said that the players had cooperated with all investigations and considered the case closed.
