Per Philadelphia Flyers General Manager, Daniel Briere: “Carter Hart has requested and been granted an indefinite leave of absence citing personal reasons. The club will have no further comment at this time.” The Flyers have made immediate roster moves to fill the hole that will be left by Hart’s departure.
It’s not clear what the root cause of the issue is or why Hart has requested time away. Unfortunately, he will inevitably be linked to the Team Canada Hockey scandal of 2018. Steve Simmons tweeted on Tuesday, “Carter Hart and Dillon Dube, both members of junior Team Canada 2018, have taken leaves from their NHL teams.” He adds, “Might be just a coincidence, unrelated, but it appears as though some kind of ruling on the sexual assault scandal may be coming shortly.”
Briere says, “The club will have no further comment at this time.” Rightfully so, until Hart decides to talk about this publicly (if he ever does) or the matter becomes something of public record, this is a privacy issue that should remain private.
Flyers Make Corresponding Moves Following Carter Hart News
Soon after, the Flyers announced they’ve placed forward Owen Tippet on injured reserve and recalled goaltender Cal Petersen from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
At 25, Hart holds a 12-9-3 record this season, boasting a .906 SV% and a 2.80 GAA in 26 games. Selected by the Flyers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft’s second round, Hart’s career spans six seasons with a cumulative record of 96-93-29. He maintains a .906 SV% and a 2.94 GAA over 227 NHL appearances. Hart is in the final year of a three-year, $11.94 million contract signed in August 2021. He will be a restricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season.
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