Jan 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart (79) against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Questions still remain - such as will there be an appeal? Or will these guys get to play in the NHL again?
All five members of the 2018 Hockey Canada team who were on trial for sexual assault — including former Flyers goalie Carter Hart — were found not guilty on Thursday morning by Justice Maria Carroccia in a court in London, Ontario.
When reading her verdict in the high-profile case — which included a mistrial and a second jury dismissal, forcing the judge to come to a decision on her own — Carroccia indicated that she rendered the verdict that she did because the accuser, who was known in court only by the initials E.M. because of a publication ban, was not deemed "credible or reliable."
According to reporters who were present at the trial, Carroccia said, "Having found that I can not rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown (prosecution) cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me."
While the result is in favor of the players, it doesn't mean its over.
The prosecutors have 30 days to appeal Carroccia's decision, and part of a statement read outside the courthouse by Crown attorney Meghan Cunningham said that prosecutors will "carefully review Justice Carroccia's decision... (and) we have no further comments to make about the decision at this time."
Hart was the only one of the five accused players to testify at the trial. The other four — Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote — did not.
Hart's testimony from May was well documented by TSN's Rick Westhead. Here's Day 1 of Hart's testimony. Here's Day 2.
Of course, the natural reaction from hockey fans on Thursday was to begin to wonder if these players would be welcomed back to the NHL.
There's still time for that to play out.
Teams are going to be interested — especially in Hart, who as a goaltender who doesn't turn 27 until next month, can be an asset for several teams.
But how much of an asset? What's the trade off?
The Flyers goaltending situation is not the greatest at the moment — with Sam Ersson and Dan Vladar expected to be the guys at the NHL level, while Ivan Fedotov and prospect Carson Bjarnason are expected to man the pipes at Lehigh Valley in the AHL.
The Flyers have always deferred to the league on this sensitive issue — and it's a pretty good bet that they, and other teams, will wait for guidance from the NHL to see if there is going to be any additional supplemental discipline handed down.
That decision may not come from the NHL until after the Crown decides if it will appeal.
And if there is supplemental discipline on these players, that could be appealed by the NHL Players' Association.
There are a lot of sticky wickets.
That said, if one can assume the players will eventually be free to sign with NHL teams, even if there is additional discipline, Hart's name is likely to be the first to come up.
The Flyers will likely keep tabs on the situation. Internal discussions are sure to be had. It's a good bet Comcast corporate would weigh in on such discussions as well. Would the organization be willing to welcome him back knowing that have to manage what could be a public relations tornado? Is that juice worth the squeeze?
And even if they were willing to do that, at what expense? What if other teams were interested in getting into a bidding war for his services? At what point do you get out? Or do you?
There are those who don't care what the verdict is, they believe the actions of these players were still so egregious that they should never get to play in the NHL again.
I'm so disgusted right now and have so many feelings for EM and everything she's been through.
Fuck you, Carter Hart.
Fuck you, Alex Formenton.
Fuck you, Cal Foote.
Fuck you, Dillon Dubé.
And fuck you, Michael McLeod.
We know what you did.
And we'll never forget.
There are people who will argue that even though these players were found not guilty, it doesn't mean that what happened that night in June 2018 was anywhere close to OK and wouldn't touch them with a 30-foot-pole
There are those who will argue that these players have been punished enough with being out of work for 18 months, and although they may not like that they are back in the league, you can't deny them the opportunity to earn a living, even if there might be ramifications for the team that signs them.
Carter Hart...not guilty, not so innocent either. He's a slug, a human skid mark that has no business being 'celebrated' today. The details of this trial are enough for any team to be seriously concerned about what exactly they are signing.
Then there are those who say, these were stupid actions by teenage boys and that they shouldn't be punished further - let them play hockey, because that's all that matters to some sports fans.
Carter hart was wrongly prosecuted and persecuted by a woman with no moral compass
Call me crazy but…. Carter Hart should be able to sue this girl and the Flyers need to sign him.
Flyers Talk: Danny B needs to trade the Ellis contract and sign Carter Hart to a 1 or 2 year proven contract. Bring Hart Back!
No matter where anyone stands on this issue, it's not going to be the easiest to sort out, deal with, or accept. Yet someone, or several someones, will have to do just that.
