CONTENT WARNING: This articles contains mentions of sexual assault and domestic abuse.

A little over two weeks ago on Oct. 26, the Vegas Golden Knights signed Carter Hart to a two-year, $4 million dollar contract, and they still have yet to make a post on social media announcing the deal. Typically, when a National Hockey League team signs or re-signs a player, they celebrate the deal by announcing it online. Instead, Hart’s contract announcement came in the form of a quiet post to NHL.com. In fact, the only official announcement regarding Hart’s involvement with the Golden Knights organization is a press statement issued on Oct. 16 when it was revealed that Vegas had signed Hart for a professional tryout. To be clear, a press statement to address a player joining an organization is decidedly not the norm in the NHL. 

Yet, Vegas clearly felt that welcoming Hart into their organization necessitated an atypical approach, likely because they anticipated the controversy that would follow their decision. In January of 2024, Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were criminally charged with sexual assault regarding an incident that occurred in London, Ontario following the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala. In July, Hart, along with the four other former Hockey Canada players, were found not guilty of the sexual assault charges. 

After two months, the high profile Canadian trial came to a close when Justice Maria Carroccia reached her not guilty decision, she alone decided the verdict after twice discharging the jury. The first mistrial involved the conduct of Hillary Dudding, who was representing Forementon. The second involved Dudding and Daniel Brown, also representing Forementon, wherein the jury accused both lawyers of inappropriate behavior. 

On July 24, roughly a week after the acquittal, the NHL announced that all five players were still ineligible to return to the league as “the allegations made in this case, even if not determined to be criminal, were very disturbing, and the behavior at issue was unacceptable.” The National Hockey League Players Association took issue with the statement and referred to it as "inconsistent with the discipline procedures” outlined in their collective bargaining agreement. 

Less than two months later, on Sept. 11, the NHL issued another statement declaring that the players would be eligible to sign NHL contracts on Oct. 15 and would be allowed to return to play on Dec. 1. Even so, in this statement, the NHL reiterated that the events described in the case “were deeply troubling and unacceptable.” Furthermore, the NHL "determined that the conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the League and its Member Clubs expect and demand.” Initially, rumors swirled about where any of the five players might end up, as before their arrest in 2024, Formenton was the only one not playing in the NHL. However, McLeod and Hart received the most NHL interest by far after neither were asked back to their former teams.

In September, it looked as if the Carolina Hurricanes were interested in both McLeod and Hart, while the Golden Knights were primarily interested in Hart. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic visited both teams in the preseason to ask about the potential signings. While investigating Carolina, Lazerus was able to speak with head coach Rod Brind’Amour, captain Jordan Staal and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. In Vegas, it was a different story. The Knights refused to allow Lazerus to speak with head coach Bruce Cassidy, and later, when Cassidy began his press conference, Lazerus was removed from the room and his press pass to that night’s preseason game was revoked. Lazerus was asked to leave the practice facility immediately as a spokesperson for the organization claimed Lazerus “ambushed” player Noah Hanifin that morning with questions about Hart during routine locker-room media interviews. 

For their part, Carolina did not end up signing McLeod. Once the rumors began, a group of Hurricanes season ticket holders organized to contact the team with a very clear message: Signing McLeod or Hart would put an end to their support of the team and the Hurricanes organization. Whether or not the upset fans affected Carolina's  decision to sign McLeod is unverifiable. On Oct. 9, McLeod signed with Avangard Omsk from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League rather than the Hurricanes. 

The backlash from Carolina fans likely inspired Vegas’ press statement when they signed Hart for a professional trial. The statement detailed that the Golden Knights agreed with “the process and assessment” that the NHL and NHLPA undertook to reach their decision to reinstate the five players, and that signing Hart aligns with the organization’s “core values.” By the NHL’s own admission, the way Hart, McLeod, Dubé, Foote and Formenton acted that night in 2018 was reprehensible and deserved some manner of discipline, the league doled this out in extending the timeline of the players’ return; in total, they will have been away from the league for almost two years. In light of this, one struggles to imagine which of the Golden Knights’ “core values” hiring Hart adheres to; his conduct may not have been found to be criminal, but it was disgusting nonetheless. Ironically, the need to issue a press statement about signing a player may indicate to some that the individual in question might not, after all, adhere to your organization's core values.  

Thus far, the Golden Knights have appeared unable to make up their mind about what to do with Hart. First, they refuse to comment in the preseason, instead electing to immediately go on the defense by punishing Lazerus for asking the same questions every other member of the press would be asking roughly a month later when Hart’s signing was made official. Continuing in this manner, they issue a press statement but now bizarrely, they appear to get cold feet when it comes to advertising Hart’s new contract. Either the organization needs to own up to signing Hart and the controversy involved with that decision, or they should cut him loose, especially seeing as it is highly likely that once Hart is allowed to play and travel with the team on the road, he will continue to face ongoing scrutiny from journalists and the media. 

The reinstatement of all five former Hockey Canada players did not occur in a vacuum. In fact, Hart’s return to play for the NHL is indicative of a much larger problem. The NHL is the only one of the four major North American sports leagues that lacks a clear, comprehensive and formal policy on domestic abuse and sexual assault. The NFL, NBA and MLB all have one. Instead, in the NHL, each incident is handled on a case-by-case basis by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. This is why the players were initially not reinstated: it was simply a matter of Bettman and Daly’s discretion. Furthermore, Hart is not the only controversial individual in recent memory to return to the league after being involved in a legal case regarding sexual assault. 

In July of last year, the NHL made the decision to reinstate Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac and Joel Quenneville after they were banned from working in the league in October 2021.  

All three men worked for the Chicago Blackhawks organization when the team won the cup in 2010. At the time, Bowman was the president of hockey operations and general manager for the Blackhawks, MacIsaac worked in the front office as senior director of hockey administration and Quenneville was head coach. In 2021 an independent investigation by law firm Jenner & Block revealed the Blackhawks organization failed to take adequate action when then-player Kyle Beach brought allegations of sexual assault against then-video coach Brad Aldrich. The investigation found that five members of the Blackhawks front office — Bowman, MacIsaac, Donald McDonough, Jay Blunk and Kevin Cheveldayoff — and Quenneville were aware of the allegations made by Beach in 2010; they chose to ignore the issue in favor of focusing on the team’s cup run. 

Not one of these individuals confronted Aldrich or followed up on the disturbing events detailed to them by Beach. Despite the allegations brought before them, Aldrich’s name was inscribed on the Stanley Cup, and Quenneville personally wrote Aldrich a positive performance evaluation. Their inaction and gross negligence enabled Aldrich to leave the organization, find work at Houghton High School in Michigan and sexually assault a minor. Aldrich pleaded guilty and was convicted of criminal sexual misconduct with a minor in 2013: he served nine months in jail. 

When the findings were made public, Bowman and MacIsaac were still working for the Blackhawks; both stepped down in October 2021. Quenneville, who was the Florida Panthers’ head coach at the time, resigned that month as well after a meeting with Bettman. Cheveldayoff remained in his role as general manager of the Winnipeg Jets and is still in that position today. The investigation prompted two lawsuits against the Blackhawks: one filed by Beach in 2021, another filed in 2023 by a former Blackhawks player known only as "John Doe." Beach settled with the Blackhawks in 2021, and John Doe settled with the Blackhawks on Sept. 25, 2025. The decision to reinstate Bowman, Quenneville and MacIsaac was made in July 2024. Three weeks later, Bowman was hired as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. Quenneville took longer to return; over a year later on May 8, 2025, the Anaheim Ducks announced he was their new head coach. The NHL’s only formal response to the investigation was to fine the Blackhawks organization $2 million in 2021.

The Athletic reached out to Daly when Anaheim announced that Quenneville was to be their new head coach. On the matter of Quenneville and his past, Daly said, “Upon full reinstatement we considered (and continue to consider) the matter to be closed.” Before the Blackhawks settled the second lawsuit concerning the organization’s mishandling of the allegations against Aldrich, not only had Bowman, Quenneville and MacIsaac been reinstated, but Bowman and Quenneville were back working in the league. MacIsaac has yet to return. Additionally, at the time of Quenneville’s return, Daly considered the matter closed despite ongoing litigation. Bowman and Quenneville have both separately expressed their regret about the situation and taken accountability. Both also claim to have spent their time away from the league working on themselves and with programs to better educate themselves about victims of abuse. In Bowman’s case, his more recent actions could be considered to overshadow the statements he made when he was hired by the Oilers because in March he refused to comply with a subpoena in John Doe’s lawsuit. 

When Hart’s professional tryout was announced on Oct. 16, Hart made similar comments to the media saying, “I’ve learned a lot. I’ve grown a lot. I’m ready to move on.” Being ready to move on is certainly a sentiment that Hart shares with Bowman and Quenneville, in the case of the latter the media seems to agree. Bowman and Quenneville have at least had the opportunity to claim remorse for their actions. In truth, they can also claim to have put in years of work on themselves and understanding their failure as leaders. In terms of time spent working on himself to better understand the harm his actions caused, Hart cannot say the same. Mistakes do not vanish as soon as one decides they are “ready to move on.” 

After all, it is worth noting that in Hart’s case, a not guilty verdict and acquittal do not guarantee one’s innocence. In the case of Bowman and Quenneville, it is worth noting that the choice they made to ignore Beach was despicable, and in doing so, they are directly responsible for the harm Aldrich inflicted on multiple people for many years. This harm may have easily been prevented if Quenneville, or Bowman, or any other member of the Blackhawks front office had done anything when Beach first accused Aldrich. But winning was more important. With logic like this, one wonders if they should have been allowed to return to the league at all, regardless of how they conducted themselves in the years following the investigation. 

In the time between these cases, has the league changed how it deals with sexual assault allegations? No. The NHL has a demonstrated accountability problem, which extends beyond sexual assault. On Oct. 26, the Washington Capitals fired assistant coach Mitch Love over allegations of domestic abuse. The NHL suspended Love for the 2025-26 season for “conduct detrimental to the league” but stated that Love can apply for reinstatement for the 2026-27 season as long as he meets “certain conditions.” In August 2024, the New York Rangers quietly reached a settlement agreement with a then-Rangers employee who claimed that forward Artemi Panarin sexually assaulted her in December 2023. One settlement was individually reached with Panarin, and a second was reached with Madison Square Garden Sports. Panarin never missed any playing time and was named the Rangers’ Most VP for the 2024-25 season. 

The NHL’s culture of unaccountability even goes so far as the discovery that Hockey Canada from which, while not being league affiliated, the NHL still finds many of their prospects, had a discretionary fund whose sole purpose was paying sexual assault settlements in cases brought against Hockey Canada players.  In fact, before there was a criminal proceeding involving Hart and the four other former Hockey Canada players, they had already reached a settlement regarding the allegations. It was when news of this settlement agreement leaked that the criminal investigation was reopened. Each of these examples is from the last two years, but it doesn’t take much to find that the NHL’s history with such cases extends far beyond that. 

Bettman, Daly and the league as a whole have had many years to address this problem, yet they continue their inaction. Without a comprehensive league-wide policy, nothing will change, because players and leadership are allowed to remain part of the league regardless of their actions and without true consequence. Some may say that Hart, Bowman, and Quenneville’s years away from work in the league is enough a consequence for their misconduct. But, they are not entitled to a position within the league; all three are perfectly capable of finding work elsewhere. Playing in or working for the NHL should be a privilege, not a right, and second chances are earned, not deserved, though the NHL seems to consistently fail at upholding even these principles.

Vegas has already begun to face a minority amount of backlash, online and at games, for their choice to sign Hart. Only time will tell how that publicity may increase when Hart officially starts playing for the team, the negative reaction may very well grow, something Vegas seems to have anticipated by refusing to post about Hart’s contract. The sad truth is that the amount of scrutiny Hart faces will likely be tied to his ability to play, as we have yet to see if two years away from the league has impacted his skill. However, if he plays well, it is likely that everyone will forget about the circumstances of his signing, as in the NHL, one’s talent and legacy are all that matter, not one’s character.