(Photo: Eric Hartline, Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/06e74955-b955-4f19-bc8a-759101dd5d05.jpeg] (Photo: Eric Hartline, Imagn Images) According to a report, former Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] goalie Carter Hart and the four other players involved in the Hockey Canada trial will be suspended until Dec. 1. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/sources-nhl-suspends-players-acquitted-in-2018-sexual-assault-trial-until-dec-1/] Thursday that Hart, 27, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton will be suspended by the NHL until Dec. 1. The five players are eligible to sign with NHL teams as of Oct. 15, however. Friedman also reports that the players will not appeal this decision. Hart, McLeod, Dube, Foote, and Formenton were acquitted of the charges brought against them in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial on July 24, though the NHL did not immediately reinstate them, ultimately bringing about Thursday's reports. Previously, it was reported that the Flyers were one of multiple teams interested [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/report-flyers-interested-in-carter-hart-reunion] in Carter Hart. Flyers governor Dan Hilferty and president Keith Jones declined comment [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-decline-to-comment-on-potential-carter-hart-reunion] on anything Hart-related during their press conference on Wednesday. "It’s believed [NHL commissioner Gary Bettman] met with the players sometime in August," Friedman wrote. "NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said during the European media tour in Milan that the not-guilty verdicts should allow the players to return to action." Hart has not played a competitive game since his last Flyers appearance in Jan. 2024, and should he and the other players be confirmed to be suspended until Dec. 1, he will be 23 months removed from NHL action at the time of his potential return. UPDATE: The NHL has confirmed the above reports in a statement, which reads as follows. "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. "Upon learning of the allegations in May 2022, the League commenced a third-party investigation into their conduct. This investigation was extensive, and included, among other things: interviews with every player on the team and several other relevant parties who were willing to meet with us, and examination of hundreds of documents, videos and texts. "The League paused our process in January 2024, when prosecutors in London, Ontario, announced that Mr. Dubé, Mr. Foote, Mr. Formenton, Mr. Hart, and Mr. McLeod would be criminally charged. "After more than one year of pretrial proceedings, the criminal trial commenced in April 2025, and lasted approximately two months, concluding on June 13, 2025. The verdicts finding each of the players not guilty were announced in a lengthy and thorough opinion by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia on July 24, 2025. In her decision, Justice Carroccia carefully reviewed the record presented to the court. "In relying on both our own investigation, and the conclusions reached by Justice Carroccia in her opinion, and the players’ acquittal, the League has determined that the conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the League and its Member Clubs expect and demand. "The League is now confronted with how best to respond to all that has happened -- the conduct of the players, the criminal proceeding, and the acquittal of the players. "Each of the players, based on in-person meetings with the League following the verdicts, expressed regret and remorse for his actions. Nevertheless, we believe their conduct requires formal League-imposed discipline. "Given their conduct, we carefully evaluated the players’ acquittal in court and the time spent away from the game. Taking into account that the players have been away from the game for 20 months – including since their acquittals in July -- we have determined that the players will be eligible to sign an NHL contract no sooner than October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games no sooner than December 1, 2025, bringing their total time out of the League to nearly two years. "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." This is a developing story.
