Major update on the situation between Edmonton Oilers and free agent goalie Carter Hart

Whoa! NHL insider Frank Seravalli with a bombshell report!

Last week the five players accused in the 2018 World Juniors sexual assault case were all found Not Guilty.

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Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were all found Not Guilty of sexually assaulting an unnamed woman in June of 2018 in a London, ON hotel room.

Now, there’s speculation about how and where the players might resume their careers. Specifically, there’s speculation that Hart, a highly touted goaltender, is seeking to return to the NHL.

“Mr. Hart regrets that it took a criminal trial for the truth to come out, but he has learned from the experience and he is committing to sharing what he has learnt with others in his personal circle and in his professional life,” Hart’s lawyer Megan Savard said to CBC.

There have been rumor reports that the Edmonton Oilers are interested in signing Hart, but NHL insider Frank Seravalli reports today that Hart is a “non-starter” for the Oilers.

“I was told that Carter Hart is a non-starter for the Edmonton Oilers,” Seravalli reports today. “He’s been labelled by the NHL as ineligible and they’re going to continue to review the file before determining next steps in the commissioner’s office. So, until (he) is cleared to play it’s not even really a conversation worth having.”

“Carter Hart will play in the NHL. I have no doubt at all,” Eric Macramalla, a TSN/Forbes Sports legal analyst and host, said on Twitter on Thursday. He added in later interviews that Hart’s decision to testify at the London trial will go a long way in the court of public opinion.

However, it sounds like former New Jersey Devils defenseman Cal Foote and former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton won’t be resuming their NHL careers.

“There are certainly NHL executives with interest in signing some of these players, said NHL insider Chris Johnston earlier this week. However he states that “returns are less likely for Foote…and Formenton.”

Johnston would go on to intimate that both Foote and Formenton have sought out careers outside of the hockey world and are unlikely to return to the NHL or to professional hockey in general.

Currently though, all five of these former NHLers are all under indefinite suspension for violating the NHL’s code of conduct. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is responsible for clearing the suspensions, if he so chooses.

NHLPA head Marty Walsh released a statement last week saying that the players have a right to return to work and that the union will work with the NHL to get these players reinstated. At the same time though, there are a group of activists working behind the scenes to keep these players suspended indefinitely.

Allison Forsyth, an advocate for safe sport and founder of Generation Safe, told CBC, “Just because people are found not guilty doesn’t mean that bad things have not happened.” Forsyth added she doesn’t think the five men in the London trial should be allowed to return to the NHL.

“There is a sexual culture of hockey. I know it. I have had players disclose the past that they have had within hockey where very bad things have happened. And this [allowing them to be eligible for NHL play] will send a message that hockey condones this type of sexual culture.”

What do you think? Should these players be free to resume their NHL careers?