When news broke that the NHL was going to reinstate the five Team Canada players who were acquitted of some serious offences earlier this summer, it brought a lot of controversy as opinions wavered between those who believed a second chance was necessary and those who wished they would stay far away.
The fact of the matter is that regardless of your opinion, those players will be eligible to sign contracts starting in October, and will be able to appear in games starting on Dec. 1 if they find themselves signed.
While Alex Formenton already took his talents overseas, the other four names; Cal Foote, Dillon Dube, Michale McLeod and Carter Hart are all looking towards the next step in their career, but it seems to be goaltender Hart who is garnering the most attention.
Linked to the Edmonton Oilers as a potential destination, there were conflicting reports about whether or not the team wanted to sign him and there is no doubt that he could certainly provide at least a decent amount of help for Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard.
But is that decent amount of production worth the potential backlash that comes their way?
There’s always the chance that regardless of what Hart does, the stink of his controversy is going to turn fans away. This isn’t your typical situation and Edmonton has to weigh whether his help is worth losing part of their community.
He’s also been out of the league for two years, and while he’s been keeping in shape and working out, it’s hard to ask a player to come in and contribute with such minimal time and preparation.
Hart, 27, has a career 96-93-29 record with a 2.94 GAA and .906 SV% all with Philadelphia, who drafted him 48th overall in 2016.
There are other options for the Oilers to pursue such as James Reimer, Ilya Sorokin, or even pull off a deal for someone like Anthony Stolarz or Jordan Binnington; so Hart seems like a desperate measure for a desperate time.
We’ll just have to wait and see where Hart ends up if he does end up anywhere at all.
It just probably shouldn’t be Edmonton.
