The goaltender will make his debut with the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, the team announced after morning skate.

Hart agreed to a two-year deal with the Golden Knights in October, becoming the first of the five 2018 Canada world junior hockey players to land an NHL contract since they were acquitted of sexual assault in a high-profile case.

Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were not eligible to play in games until Monday, as part of the league’s reinstatement process.

All five players were eligible to play in the AHL, as of Nov. 15. Hart went 1-2-0 with a 3.07 goals-against average and an .839 save percentage with the Henderson Silver Knights.

“Carter has waited a long time to play, so he’s definitely going to get his share of starts,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said Monday. “We want him to be ready when he’s in there, physically, (and) it will be a mental battle getting him in there playing every night and getting back to being an NHL goalie. It’s been a while so we want to make sure we take care of that part as well.”

Hart is resuming his career at age 27 after spending his first six seasons in Philadelphia. The Flyers had ruled out bringing back Hart, whose camp communicated to general manager Danny Briere that a fresh start was a better option.

Hart and the others were charged in 2024 in connection with an incident in London, Ont., in 2018. The judge overseeing the trial said the prosecution could not meet the onus of proof to convict them and that the complainant’s allegations lacked the credibility needed to justify the charges.

The NHL conducted its own investigation beginning in 2022, when the allegations came to light. In a statement outlining when the players would be eligible to rejoin the league, the NHL wrote that “The League expects and requires that, going forward, each of the players will uphold the standards required of NHL players both on and off the ice.”

The Golden Knights are missing goaltender Adin Hill (lower-body injury). Akira Schmid and Carl Lindbom have been the other Vegas goaltenders, but the Golden Knights sent the latter down to Henderson on Sunday.

– with files from The Associated Press