The Vegas Golden Knights will do anything to win a Stanley Cup. Their cutthroat, business-first mentality since becoming a National Hockey League franchise in 2017 has earned them very few fans outside of Nevada, but it has been a key part to their on-ice success that culminated in a Stanley Cup in 2023.
After Thursday, you can add signing embroiled goaltender Carter Hart to Vegas’ list of controversial, hockey-first moves.
Hart is the first player of the Hockey Canada 5 to be signed to an NHL team for the 2025-26 season. Hart — alongside Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod — was found not guilty in July on sexual assault charges in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case. The verdicts were handed down by Judge Maria Carroccia after two juries were dismissed during the course of the case, with the second jury being let go after multiple jurors stated they felt “judged” and “made fun of” by two members of the defense counsel.
While there had been rumors over the summer as to whether or not the five players in the case would return to the NHL, the Golden Knights’ signing of Hart is a watershed moment for the league. The Golden Knights signed Hart to a professional tryout contract (PTO) after he became available on October 15. Hart will be eligible to return to NHL ice for a game on December 1, 2025.
After the signing, the Golden Knights released a statement on their social media platforms about Hart.
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 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.
While a nothingburger of a statement, the phrase “core values” stands out here from the Golden Knights. Just more than a month ago, the NHL released a statement of their own related to Hart and the rest of the men involved in the Hockey Canada case:
“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 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.”
Let’s take a look at that last line again, shall we? “While not found to have been criminal, the conduct of the players involved certainly did not meet that standard.”
So, if the NHL themselves have said that the the conduct of Hart and the other men didn’t meet the league’s standard, where does that leave the Golden Knights, who said that they remain committed to their “core values” with this signing? As a matter of fact, it’s pretty telling that the Golden Knights had this statement prepared when usually, a signing of this insignificance often times doesn’t warrant a full-blown PR push from the team involved.
Let’s take a look at another example of the “core values” that define the Vegas Golden Knights. In late September, the Golden Knights revoked a credential for reporter Mark Lazerus of The Athletic after he asked Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin about the potential signing of Hart to the team. Lazerus was also kicked out of the Golden Knights’ practice facility after the incident.
Here’s how Lazerus described the encounter in his own words in a piece from The Athletic:
“The team declined to allow head coach Bruce Cassidy to speak to The Athletic one-on-one after learning of the topic. Several minutes later, before Cassidy began a news conference, the spokesperson pulled an Athletic reporter out of the room and told him to leave the team’s practice facility immediately. The Athletic’s press pass for that evening’s preseason game was revoked. The spokesperson said The Athletic had ‘ambushed’ Noah Hanifin during routine locker-room media interviews that morning and the team was not ‘comfortable’ allowing the reporter to cover the game.”
Since Hart is now a member of the Golden Knights, will the team also be kicking out reporters who ask him or his new teammates about the legal matter he was involved in? Given the precedent Vegas set by revoking the credential of a reporter just doing their job, it’s fair game now, right?
I’m not a betting person, but the answer seems pretty obvious.
From here, Hart will be allowed to use the Golden Knights’ practice facilities and will become eligible to play AHL games on November 15. Hart last played a game in January 2024, so his NHL future is still uncertain given the time away.
But what is clear is the Golden Knights’ cowardice in signing Hart while attempting to shield themselves behind their “core values”. It’s plain to see what values define the Golden Knights, and it’s the ones that are useful to their organization’s pursuit of a Stanley Cup at any cost.