NHL Claims Carter Hart and 4 Other Players “Ineligible” to Play in League Despite Being Found Not Guilty in S**ual Assault Case

On Thursday, an Ontario Superior Court acquitted Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote on charges of s**ual assault.

NHL Claims Carter Hart and 4 Other Players “Ineligible” to Play in League Despite Being Found Not Guilty in S**ual Assault Case

Carter Hart (Image via NBC Sports Philadelphia)

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In a major development on Thursday, a court would find Carter Hart and 4 other players not guilty in a s**ual assault case. Despite this ruling, the NHL claims that these players are “ineligible” to play in the league.

Hart, along with Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote, was involved in the Hockey Canada s**ual assault trial. These players were facing charges of s**ual assault from a scandal that broke out in 2018 during a gala.

As per reports, a woman referred to as “E.M.” alleged that she was s**ually assaulted by the players from the Hockey Canada team that won the Junior Championships in 2018. As per the lawsuit, she would have a consensual encounter with one player, but did not consent to further acts involving other players.

After weeks of trial, the court on Thursday acquitted the five players of the charges. In a courtroom in Ontario, Justice Maria Carroccia expressed that the Crown was unable to provide ‘neither credible nor reliable‘ evidence.

Having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus [of proof] on any of the counts before me.

Justice Maria Carrocccia said

While the court acquitted Hart and the other players, the NHL is still not ready to allow them back in the league. In a statement released later on, the league expressed that the behavior at the time of this issue was “unacceptable“.

The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behaviour at issue was unacceptable. We will be reviewing and considering the judge’s findings. While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the league.

NHL said in a statement

To make things clear, these players were not technically suspended by the NHL. They were granted absence of leaves by their clubs. After they did not submit a qualifying offers, these players became Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs).

NHLPA hits back at NHL for making Carter Hart and others ‘ineligible’ to play in the league

Despite the court’s acquittal of Carter Hart and the other players in the s**ual assault case, the NHL expressed that these players were ineligible to play in the league. The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) hit back at the NHL for their actions.

Carter Hart
Carter Hart (Image via X/@BR_OpenIce)

In a statement, the NHLPA expressed that the players should be allowed to return to play after missing one full season of their career and called the NHL’s decision ‘inconsistent‘.

Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod were acquitted of all charges by Justice Carroccia of the Ontario Superior Court. After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work. The NHL’s declaration that the Players are ‘ineligible’ to play pending its further analysis of the Court’s findings is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA.

NHLPA said in a statement

McLeod, Hart, Foote, and Dube were all active members of their team during the time of their arrests in 2024. Meanwhile, Formenton, a former Ottawa Senators draft pick, had not played in the NHL since 2022.

During the time of the incident in 2018, Formenton had played one game in the NHL. McLeod, Foote and Dube had some brief stints with their clubs’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliates.

So what’s next for these players? The NHL has made them ineligible to play in the league at the moment. It remains to be seen whether they will change their stance or not in the future. If they are not allowed back in the NHL, the players could turn to the European Leagues.

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