Edmonton Oilers not interested in signing Carter Hart: report
The Edmonton Oilers don’t appear to be keen on bringing Carter Hart aboard to fix their goaltending woes.
Speculation of the Oilers’ potential interest in Hart exploded after he was one of the five players acquitted in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial earlier this month. While the Oilers do have a history of giving players second chances, it doesn’t appear that Hart will be next up on that list.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported on Tuesday afternoon that Edmonton will not be adding Hart into the fold any time soon.
“I was told that Carter Hart is a non-starter for the Edmonton Oilers,” Seravalli said. “Him and the other four former NHL players have been labelled by the NHL as ineligible, and they are going to continue to review the file before determining next steps in the commissioner’s office.
“Until they are cleared to play, it’s not even a conversation worth having.”
Carter Hart is a "non-starter" for the Edmonton Oilers as the five former Hockey Canada players acquitted of sexual assault remain ineligible to play in the NHL (w/ @frank_seravalli) pic.twitter.com/4FNDVaYRAA
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) July 29, 2025
From this report, it sounds like the Oilers wouldn’t have been able to sign Hart even if they wanted to at this point. Could the team have a change of heart once the 26-year-old is cleared to return by the NHL? Possibly, but there is also a good chance that Edmonton opts to avoid the controversy that would come with such a move.
For those in the dark about the situation, Hart was involved in a scandal with four other former NHL players (Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote), where they were accused of sexually assaulting a woman while attending a Hockey Canada gala in 2018.
When the accusations dropped in January 2024, Hart was given an indefinite leave from the Philadelphia Flyers. He didn’t return that season and did not receive a qualifying offer that summer, making him a UFA.
If you ignore the controversy surrounding the player (which is next to impossible to do), you can see why the Oilers could be interested in adding a goalie like Hart. He’s a local product who played minor hockey in the Edmonton area and has had moderate success at the NHL level.
He’s had a save percentage of at least .905 in each of his last three seasons and seems like a much more consistent performer than either Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard.
We will have to wait and see if the NHL’s potential clearing of Hart changes the tune for the Oilers, but it would be safe to assume that nothing is imminent on that front based on the latest reporting.