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During the first period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday, Hurricanes fans broke out into a chant: “No means no.” The target was Carter Hart, the starting goalie for the opposing Golden Knights.
Hart is among the so-called “Hockey Canada 5,” a group of Canadian players on the 2018 World Junior Championship team. The five were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ontario, hotel room following an event celebrating their gold medal. In July 2025, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled the five former NHL players were not guilty as she did not find the testimony of the plaintiff “credible or reliable.”
The shadow of the trial has followed Hart into Vegas’s deep playoff run. The goalie is the only player of the group of five who signed an NHL contract in the wake of the acquittal.
The Golden Knights have mostly protected Hart from scrutiny throughout both the playoffs and in the regular season. In a Monday press conference in advance of the Stanley Cup Final, The Athletic reported that Hart’s media availability was cut short after a question from the outlet that referenced the trial.
Tuesday, Carolina fans loudly booed the announcement of Hart’s name at the beginning of the game.
There is some irony in the Lenovo Center jeers: Carolina was the other main team linked to some of the acquitted players. In September 2025, WRAL reported that the Hurricanes were interested in forward Michael McLeod and, later, Hart. Fan backlash was swift, and Carolina stood down from offering contracts to either player. In December, however, the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, quietly signed Cal Foote of the Hockey Canada 5 to a standard contract. Foote played in 48 games this season with the Wolves, including 12 playoff appearances.
Hart’s front-and-center role throughout Vegas’s Stanley Cup run has also reignited heated discourse on social media that originated during last summer’s trial, with his supporters and those who believe he was wrongly acquitted publicly sniping at each other.
Vegas acquired the 27-year-old Hart on a two-year, $4 million contract just after the window of eligibility opened for the players, who were reinstated by the NHL in October. Hart made his debut Dec. 2, a day after he was permitted to return to the ice. After a largely average regular season, Hart has found a new gear in the playoffs and is now in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. (Some analysts, however, believe that Hart’s history nullifies his campaign for the award.)
Among Hart’s teammates is also Brett Howden, who was a member of that 2018 World Junior Championship team. Howden’s text messages from the evening, which mentioned the activities in the hotel room, were submitted by the Crown to be considered as evidence, but the request was ultimately denied. Testifying remotely from Vegas during the 2025 trial, Howden said he couldn’t remember details about the incident. He was not accused of any wrongdoing.
Vegas took Tuesday’s Game 1 against Carolina, 5–4.
