Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere told reporters on Tuesday that former Flyers goaltender Carter Hart’s agent told the team that the player is seeking a “fresh start” and does not intend to rejoin the team this season.
Briere told reporters that “[Hart’s] representative, Judd Moldaver, has reached out and kind of told us that in light of everything that happened in the last year and a half with Carter, they felt, Carter felt, that it was better for them to look for a fresh start.”
“That’s where it’s at and it’s the only comment I’m going to make on that,” Briere said, per The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz.
Briere’s full quote on Carter Hart: “The only comment I’ll make on that is that his representative, Judd Moldaver, has reached out and kind of told us that in light of everything that happened in the last year and a half with Carter, they felt, Carter felt, that it was better for…
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) September 16, 2025
Hart, 27, spent all six of his NHL seasons with the Flyers after the team drafted him in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft before he left the team in January of 2024 with charges pending relating to the London Hockey Trial that concluded earlier this summer.
The NHL announced earlier this month that it is reinstating the five players who were acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018 when they were members of Canada’s world junior team, and that they will be eligible to sign a contract Oct. 15 and take part in games Dec. 1.
Hart, Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were all found not guilty by a judge in London, Ont. The National Hockey League said in a statement following the verdict on July 24 by Justice Maria Carroccia that even though the players were found not guilty, their actions were “unacceptable”, and the players were ineligible to return to the league while it reviewed the decision.
Four of the players (Dube, Foote, Hart and McLeod) were playing in the NHL until charges were announced during the 2023-24 season and are currently unrestricted free agents. Formenton has been out of the league since 2022 and rejoined Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta earlier in September.
Given his experience in the NHL, the expectation was that Hart would garner the most interest as a potential addition to a roster this season.
In 227 career NHL games with the Flyers, Hart has a 96-93-29 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.