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Carter Hart ‘almost certainly’ signing with U.S.-based team, ruling out Oilers as option
Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid
Photo credit: © Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Zach Laing
Sep 14, 2025, 16:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 14, 2025, 14:09 EDT
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Oilers fans who hoped Carter Hart would sign with his hometown will be disappointed.
The free agent goaltender, who was recently cleared alongside four other players acquitted in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial to return to the NHL ice as soon as December 1st, won’t be taking his talents north of the border, likely to sign with a U.S.-based team.
This, according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, who reported Saturday the netminder is looking to land somewhere “with a clear chance to get a meaningful number of starts and playing for a team that can win.”
Hart, 27, hasn’t played since January 2024 when he and four members of the 2018 gold medal-winning Canadian junior hockey team were accused of sexual assault, and has been loosely linked to the Oilers for months. He had been loosely linked to the Oilers, given the team’s need to upgrade in their goaltending department, and the fact that Hart is from the suburb of Sherwood Park, immediately east of Edmonton.
Wherever Hart lands, Johnston reported, it will be on a two-or-three year deal.
Once Hart chooses his next NHL destination, he’s expected to sign a two- or three-year contract, per league sources. The two-year term would open up the possibility of an extension as soon as the summer of 2026 if the player and team feel it’s a good match.
In the meantime, Hart’s focus is on getting his game back up to an NHL level. The terms of the league’s reinstatement allow him a month to practice and get acclimated with his new team — from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15 — before he becomes eligible for an American Hockey League conditioning assignment.
In a statement earlier this week, the league said Hart, as well as Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod’s “conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the League and its Member Clubs expect and demand.”
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.

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