Carter Hart linked to contract with NHL team on Free Agency opening day

It is quite obvious that the Edmonton Oilers need an upgrade in between the pipes, something they did not really manage to do on opening day of Free Agency in the NHL yesterday. However, when the market opened, insider Kevin Weekes stunned everyone when he mentioned how Oilers general manager Stan Bowman was reportedly considering signing none other than Carter Hart in Edmonton. Weekes talked about the possibility less than 30 minutes into TSN’s Free Agent Show on Tuesday.

As you may remember, five players were charged in the 2018 World Junior alleged sexual assault, including Hart, Alex Formenton, , Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod. They were all charged with one count of sexual assault in the 2018 World Junior alleged incident that allegedly occurred following a Hockey Canada gala in Ontario in June 2018. Court documents from 2022 revealed London police believed they had reasonable grounds to accuse five players of sexually assaulting a young woman in a hotel room. At the time, the Philadelphia Flyers parted ways with Carter, making him a free agent. The trial started back in April, and a verdict is expected by the end of the month.

While awaiting for trial, Hart was reportedly still training but when he attempted to leave Canada back in September in order to get to Tennessee to focus on training, he was blocked by US Customs officers. The goalie has been trying to revive his career following the time he was exposed as part of the 2018 Team Canada scandal and while GM Bowman might feel that a goalie like him is needed in Edmonton, there is no way Hart is making an NHL return, at least until we get a verdict on July 24th… and can you imagine the Oilers’ fans’ reaction?

Hart made 25 starts for the Flyers in the 2023-24 season before he left to deal with much bigger issues. In total, Hart played 227 total games for the Flyers, including 218 starts. He was a second-round pick by the Flyers in the 2016 NHL draft.