12:31 p.m.: The Golden Knights announced that Hart will be joining the organization, although there isn’t a guaranteed contract yet – he’ll begin his work on a tryout with AHL Henderson, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports. Vegas’ full statement is as follows:
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.
8:30 a.m.: The Vegas Golden Knights are nearing a deal with free agent netminder Carter Hart, insider Frank Seravalli reported on his Victory+ show yesterday. Seravalli said “I’d expect” Hart’s deal to be two years, “a bit north” of the league-minimum salary.
Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson seconded Seravalli’s report and provided a little more detail, stating that Hart’s deal is expected to be a two-year, $1.8MM AAV pact. Hart, who is repped by Wasserman’s Judd Moldaver, became eligible to sign an NHL contract yesterday but is not eligible to play until December 1st.
That Hart isn’t eligible to play until December is notable due to a recent injury suffered by starter Adin Hill during the team’s road win against the Calgary Flames two days ago. There has been no further update on Hill’s status, but since Hart remains ineligible to play for the next month and a half, the Golden Knights will have to look elsewhere to reinforce their position in the crease should Hill miss any time.
While no deal with Hart has been officially announced to this point, Vegas’ interest in Hart has been widely reported even going back to September, when The Athletic’s Chris Johnston called the team a front-runner to secure the netminder’s services.
It was reported earlier that month that Hart would receive interest from multiple NHL teams, which is notable as the other four Hockey Canada players acquitted of charges this summer in connection to an alleged sexual assault have been met with more muted NHL interest.
Center Michael McLeod was at one point expected to sign a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, but ultimately agreed on a three-year extension with Avangard Omsk of the KHL, the side he played for in 2024-25.
A month ago, Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios commented that both his organization and forward Alex Formenton agreed that “a fresh start” would be the best option for both sides, but thus far Formenton hasn’t been able to secure another NHL team to play for. He is currently playing out a four-month contract (that contains an option to extend for the rest of the 2025-26 season) with Swiss National League side HC Ambri-Piotta.
The final two players involved in this past summer’s trial, defenseman Cal Foote and forward Dillon Dube, remain free agents. Foote spent 2024-25 with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas of the Slovak Extraliga, while Dube played for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. There has not yet been much reporting indicating serious NHL interest in either player. The only notable report that was issued regarding either player came from The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, who noted that that the Toronto Maple Leafs would not be interested in signing Dube.
As a result, it appears Hart is, by far, the most likely candidate of this group of players to receive an NHL contract in the short-term future. Hart is also, among the group, arguably its most accomplished NHL player.
The 27-year-old was once one of the more promising goalies in the sport, playing to solid results (.906 career save percentage across 227 games) for the Philadelphia Flyers. While the Flyers mostly struggled during Hart’s tenure, especially later on, he did backstop them on one playoff run, posting a .926 save percentage in 14 games during the 2019-20 season.
That Flyers team ended up falling in seven games to the New York Islanders in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In Vegas, Hart would potentially have the opportunity to get a real chance to play games for one of the NHL’s leading Stanley Cup contenders. The Golden Knights, who currently sit first in the Pacific Division with a 2-0-2 record, are loaded with high-end veteran talent including center Jack Eichel, defenseman Shea Theodore, and wingers Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.
Hill, the team’s starter, backstopped the team to its first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2023, but the 29-year-old doesn’t have an extensive resume as a number-one goalie. While he started to real success on a Stanley Cup-winning team, he has also made 50 starts in a season just once in his career.
Whether Hart has a path to being Vegas’ long-term number-one goalie is unclear at this stage.
Hill was signed to a six-year, $6.25MM AAV contract extension in March, signaling the Golden Knights’ commitment to him as their top netminder moving forward. But the Golden Knights have shown a willingness to make aggressive moves to maximize their competitive chances in the past, especially in net, such as when they acquired and extended netminder Robin Lehner despite the presence of Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury on their roster.
As a result, assuming Hart does sign in Vegas, and assuming he can play well upon his return to the NHL, a potential long-term future in Vegas cannot be counted out, even though Hill has signed that hefty extension. If the Golden Knights feel, down the line, that Hart gives them the best chance to win long-term, everything they have done and accomplished as an organization thus far suggests they won’t hesitate to re-sign Hart, even with Hill signed. Worth noting here is that under the reported terms of Hart’s expected contract (two years, $1.8MM AAV), Hart would become eligible to sign a contract extension on July 1st.
Bringing that up may be getting a little bit ahead of things, though, as the reality is Hart has not played competitive hockey since he left the Flyers in January of 2024. While he was once seen as a promising young netminder, it’s difficult to project how a player will perform, especially a goalie, after missing so much time. The Golden Knights, though, based on all of the available reporting, clearly believe in Hart’s NHL future, and appear poised to sign a two-year contract with the player that reflects that belief.
Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports