PUBLICATION
Tom Banks
September 15, 2025Â Â (6:35 PM)
Photo credit: The Fourth Period
Carter Hart and the five players involved in the 2018 Team Canada situation have been approved for return, but Don Waddell won’t be signing any in Columbus.
Recently, the NHL announced the returns of Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote, with all five permitted to return during the 2025/26 season.
Obviously, there will be differing levels of interest in all five around the league, with Carter Hart the one that has drawn the most intrigue from teams, likely to sign a new deal when they are allowed to negotiate.
Blue Jackets shut down any interest in Carter Hart
One team that has confirmed they won’t be interested in any of the five players are the Columbus Blue Jackets, with General Manager Don Waddell recently addressing that potential.
During an interview, Waddell stated simply that the team don’t anticipate making any more changes after trading for Ivan Fedotov over the weekend, and that includes those five players.
Not only that, but Waddell explicitly states that the possibility of signing any of the five down the road has not been discussed, and while that could change, he appears incredibly firm in his stance right now.
This shows Waddell’s confidence in the lineup that Columbus have put together, with the team pushing for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot in 2024/25 despite injuries and all of the extra tragedy and emotional toll the players had to go through after Johnny Gaudreau’s passing.
Ultimately, it’s likely that at least three of those players will find their way into an NHL locker room in the coming years, and even with the Blue Jackets wanting to add more young talent to their roster, they’ve seemingly made the call to avoid any of this drama moving forward.
Previously on HouseOfHockey
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One Metro Division GM Makes His Stance Clear on Signing Carter Hart or Other 2018 Team Canada Player
Is this the right move from the Columbus Blue Jackets?