Carter Hart not made available to the media; will not start Thursday vs. Flyers
The former Flyers goalie, who was acquitted on sexual assault charges in July and later signed with the Vegas Golden Knights, last played in South Philly on Jan. 20, 2024
The Flyers host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and Carter Hart will not be in goal against his former team.
Instead, Akira Schmid, who was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in 2018 and shut them out on Dec. 5, will start. Despite being the backup on Thursday, Hart was not made available to speak to the media.
“No, Carter wants to play every game; that’s one thing, he’s a very competitive guy,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said when asked if Hart not starting was because of the regular rotation or if they did not want him to play in Philadelphia.
» READ MORE: Former Flyers goalie Carter Hart joins the Vegas Golden Knights
“[Hart] had played two out of three this week, and coming out of the Ranger game, he wanted to get right back in the net. So that led to the decision on Long Island. We discussed it, obviously, with him, but that was more of us making the decision that Akira had to get back in pretty soon, coming off the shutout.
“So that’s how we landed on it.”
Hart and his 2018 Canadian World Junior teammates Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, and Michael McLeod were acquitted on sexual assault charges in Canada this summer and were suspended through Dec. 1.
“The events that transpired after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala in London, Ontario, prior to these players’ arrival in the NHL, were deeply troubling and unacceptable,” the NHL said in a September statement regarding the suspensions.
“The league expects everyone connected with the game to conduct themselves with the highest level of moral integrity. And, in this case, while found not to have been criminal, the conduct of the players involved certainly did not meet that standard.”
Hart, 27, joined the Golden Knights on Oct. 16, one day after the league-imposed start date for these five players to sign with an NHL team. He inked a two-year, $4 million contract 10 days later.
“Following the reinstatement decision agreed on by the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association, goaltender Carter Hart will be joining the Vegas Golden Knights organization,” the team’s statement on Oct. 16 said.
“The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision. 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 added: “It’s been a long road to get back to this point, to get back to playing the game of hockey, a game that I love, and I’ve been out of the game for a year and a half now. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve grown a lot. I’m just excited to move forward.”
Hart is 2-0-1 with a 2.80 goals-against average and .889 save percentage with the Golden Knights. He returned to the NHL on Dec. 2, allowing three goals on 30 shots against the Chicago Blackhawks. It was his first game since Jan. 20, 2024, three days before he took “an indefinite leave of absence citing personal reasons” from the Flyers.
» READ MORE: Flyers seem to slam the door on Carter Hart as they look to Sam Ersson and others to take the next steps
The next day, the Globe and Mail in Toronto reported that the then-unnamed Hockey Canada players allegedly involved in a sexual assault in Ontario in June 2018 had been ordered to turn themselves in to police. A week later, Hart was charged, according to his lawyers. The defendants were acquitted in July.
A second-round draft pick in 2016, Hart was viewed as a cornerstone piece for the Flyers. He went 96-93-29 with a 2.94 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 227 games across six seasons. In his last NHL season, the native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, was 12-9-3 with a .906 save percentage. Hart was the first of the five players who were acquitted in the London sexual assault case to return to NHL action.
Dubé, a forward who previously played for the Calgary Flames, signed a professional tryout agreement with the St. Louis Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate in Springfield on Wednesday. He played the 2024-25 season with Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.
Foote, a defenseman and the son of Vancouver Canucks coach Adam Foote, signed an AHL deal with the Chicago Wolves on Dec. 1. Formenton has returned to HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League, where the forward has played since 2022.
McLeod signed a three-year deal with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk in October. He played last season with the team after starting the season with Kazakhstan-based Barys Astana.