Carter Hart Signs with New NHL Team After Being Found Not Guilty in High-Profile Sexual Assault Case

NEED TO KNOW

• The Las Vegas Golden Knights announced the team has signed goaltender Carter Hart to a contract
• The announcement comes less than three months after Hart was found not guilty in a high-profile sexual assault case
• Hart's prior criminal case stemmed from allegations that he and four other members of Team Canada's under-20 World Juniors team sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman in an Ontario hotel room in 2018

Less than three months after he and four of his former teammates were found not guilty in a high-profile sexual assault case that clouded Canadian hockey for years, Carter Hart has found an NHL team willing to sign him to a professional contract.

The Las Vegas Knights announced Thursday, Oct. 16 that the team had signed Hart, now 27, while simultaneously releasing a statement that pledged the team will “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.”

"The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision," the team explained upon signing the goaltender, who was 19 years old when he and four of his former teammates were accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman in an Ontario hotel room.

Las Vegas’ announcement was met with a critical response from fans online. ESPN reported that Hart is expected to join the Knights on its NHL roster by mid-November. The Canadian goaltender was previously signed with the Philadelphia Flyers before he took a leave of absence from the team in 2024 after criminal charges were filed against him and his former teammates.

Hart’s signing comes less than three months after he and his former under-20 Team Canada teammates Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were found not guilty of the sexual assault, which was alleged to have occurred in a London, Ontario hotel room on the night the team was celebrating its 2018 World Juniors championship victory at a gala held at the hotel.

The 20-year-old woman accused McLeod of inviting her up to a hotel room where they had consensual sex. However, the woman alleged that afterwards, she was assaulted by somewhere between eight and 10 men she didn’t know who showed up to the hotel room, according to The Athletic. The woman’s allegations included that she was pressured to have oral and vaginal sex with multiple players while one player, Foote, had slapped and degraded her. The players’ defense attorneys denied the allegations and instead argued the woman initiated the sexual acts.

The woman told an Ontario Superior Courtroom this summer that she felt the only “safe” option for her was to go along with what the men were allegedly doing to her in the hotel room, explaining that she was naked, drunk and scared during the alleged assault that she said pitted more than half a dozen men against her, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported at the time.

Hart, who was 19 at the time, testified in court that he had a brief oral sexual encounter with the woman before backing away because he felt embarrassed and uncomfortable with his teammates in the room, according to a summary of the written ruling by Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia, published by the Edmonton Journal.

Carroccia strictly questioned the 20-year-old accuser’s definition of consent during the trial, according to reports.

“Much has been made in this case about the concept of consent,” Carroccia wrote in her ruling, published by the Edmonton Journal. “In this case, I have found actual consent not vitiated by fear. I do not find the evidence of E.M. to be either credible or reliable.”

The criminal trial against the five players was widely followed across Canada and the sports world, and it was marred by logistical legal issues, including Judge Carroccia originally dismissing the trial in mid-May over the players’ defense attorneys’ behavior in court.

Hart is the only player out of the five defendants who is expected to join an NHL team in the near future, according to ESPN, citing league sources. The goaltender was the only player out of the five who did not continue his playing career overseas but instead remained in the U.S. training while the criminal case against him played out.

The outlet reported that several other teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, also explored offering a contract to Hart in recent weeks.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

Read the original article on People