Hart agreed to the deal last week, becoming the first of the five 2018 Canada world junior hockey players to land an NHL contract since they were acquitted of sexual assault in a high-profile case.

Tampa Bay star Nikita Kucherov had not played with former captain Steven Stamkos in over a season, but the two high-scoring forwards were united in franchise history in the Lightning's most recent outing.

Tomáš Hertl might have already skated in his 800th game, if he hadn't gotten injured in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, on March 23.

Carter Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. The contract, which comes eight days after Hart joined the team on a professional tryout, has an average annual value of $2 million.

Hart, who was acquitted in July of sexual assault, has not played in the NHL since January 2024. He was not eligible to sign until Wednesday and will remain suspended until Dec. 1.

With limited options, the Golden Knights made the call to their AHL affiliate Henderson Silver Knights to bring up 22-year-old Carl Lindbom. “Well, I was obviously just very happy,” Lindbom said about his call-up to Ashali Vise. “It obviously sucks what happened to Hillsy, but as soon as your name gets called, you’re really ecstatic, stoked.”

But what is clear is the Golden Knights' cowardice in signing Hart while attempting to shield themselves behind their "core values". It's plain to see what values define the Golden Knights, and it's the ones that are useful to their organization's pursuit of a Stanley Cup at any cost.

Mitch Marner scored his first goals as a Golden Knight, leading Vegas to a 6-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Goalie Carter Hart made his first comments to the reporters after he signed with the Vegas Golden Knights for his comeback.

The Vegas Golden Knights came under fire from a number of voices in the NHL world on Thursday after the decision to sign controversial goaltender Carter