During Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart faced a chorus of Carolina Hurricanes fans chanting “No means no!”
The chant, referring to his engagement successful intersexual battle allegations stemming from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team’s title solemnisation successful June 2018, has enactment Hart’s arguable comeback to the NHL successful the brightest spotlight yet.
The incidental has led to lingering vitriol connected societal media, wherever groups person discussed boycotting the Knights due to the fact that they signed Hart.
Here’s a timeline of what you request to cognize astir Hart’s case.
June 2018: What happened successful London, Ontario
Team Canada met successful London, Ontario, connected June 18, 2018, to observe its gold-medal triumph implicit Sweden successful the 2018 World Junior Championships. After a solemnisation astatine the squad hotel, players went bar-hopping successful downtown London, wherever the ineligible drinking property is 19.
Former New Jersey Devils first-rounder Michael McLeod met a pistillate that night. The 2 grew intimate, dancing, drinking and kissing into the hours of the aboriginal greeting earlier they called a cab to the squad hotel, according to tribunal records.
McLeod texted a radical chat of his teammates astatine 2:10 a.m., asking, “Who wants to beryllium successful a 3 mode quick.”
The pistillate testified 7 oregon 8 players made their mode to the room, mounting disconnected a chaotic nighttime that near her feeling degraded and humiliated. She said she performed oral enactment connected 3 men successful the room, including Hart, who was 19.
Her parent contacted authorities, and her mother’s fellow contacted Hockey Canada directly, according to her testimony. She besides texted a detective assigned to her lawsuit that she did not privation to prosecute charges, but wanted the players progressive spoken to.
London constabulary and Hockey Canada investigated the incident, starring to a radical substance involving 11 players that was sent a week later. “We each request to accidental the aforesaid happening if we get interviewed,” McLeod said, per tribunal documents. “Can’t person antithetic stories oregon marque thing up.”
Several players replied, including Hart, who said, “Honestly boys cipher did thing wrong. We got consent to thing that she did. She was the 1 begging for (sex).”
Hockey Canada claimed the pistillate declined to talk to investigators, which resulted successful some investigations being closed.
April 2022: Case is reopened
The pistillate filed a suit successful the Ontario Superior Court, seeking $3.55 cardinal successful damages. Hockey Canada settled retired of tribunal for an undisclosed magnitude a period later, which led to a third-party probe into Hockey Canada for utilizing nationalist funds to settee past intersexual battle claims.
January 2024: Hart charged with intersexual assault
Hart, past successful his sixth play with the Philadelphia Flyers, took an indefinite permission of lack for idiosyncratic reasons connected Jan. 23, 2024. The adjacent day, 5 players were asked to surrender to London constabulary to look charges of intersexual assault.
May 2025: Hart testifies
Hart provided grounds connected May 29, 2025. He said helium took portion successful the unfastened barroom astatine the team’s gala meal and had “three oregon 4 beers” astatine different barroom earlier taking vantage of a $1 brew peculiar astatine the barroom wherever McLeod met the woman.
Hart and 2 different teammates returned to the edifice astatine 2:46 a.m., erstwhile helium said helium saw the threesome substance from McLeod.
“I’m in,” Hart replied, according to tribunal records.
After helium arrived to the room, Hart said helium wanted to guarantee immoderate enactment was afloat consensual. He testified that the pistillate asked if idiosyncratic could person enactment with her.
Hart testified helium did not privation vaginal enactment but asked for oral sex, which she performed connected him from 30-60 seconds with respective teammates successful the room. Hart testified his representation of that nighttime was affected by the magnitude of intoxicant helium drank.
July 24, 2025: Hart is acquitted
An Ontario Superior Court justice ruled successful favour of Hart and his 4 teammates, acquitting them. The justice accepted the grounds of Hart asking for oral enactment and the pistillate agreeing to bash so, saying she recovered “actual consent not vitiated (invalidated) by fear.”
The woman’s lawyer took contented with the attraction of her lawsuit during cross-examination, which spanned 7 days of her nine-day testimony, calling it “insulting, unfair, mocking and disrespectful.”
The NHL expressed its disapproval of the behaviour elaborate successful the case, but ruled the 5 players would beryllium eligible to motion contracts Oct. 15 and beryllium eligible to instrumentality to play Dec. 1.
October 16, 2025: Hart joins Knights
Hart joined the Knights connected a nonrecreational tryout woody Oct. 16. He signed a two-year, $4 cardinal contract 8 days later. He played his archetypal crippled successful astir 2 years on Nov. 16 for the AHL Henderson Silver Knights.
Hart played successful his archetypal NHL crippled since helium was acquitted connected Dec. 2. He suffered a lower-body wounded Jan. 8 and missed astir 3 months. Since returning from wounded successful April, Hart has played each but 1 crippled for the John Tortorella-led Knights successful a resurgent tally for the 27-year-old goaltender.
He has earned a .921 prevention percent successful the postseason portion facing the second-most shots (505) of immoderate goaltender successful the playoffs.
Contact Trevor Squire astatine tsquire@reviewjournal.com Follow him astatine @trevordsquire connected X.
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