As the Vegas Golden Knights advance in the Stanley Cup Final, at the centre of their championship run is Canadian goaltender Carter Hart — whose journey has been highly successful on ice and deeply controversial off it.

Through the first three rounds, his highlights include a 12-4 record with a 2.22 goals against average and .924 save percentage.

"Hart's a key reason the Golden Knights are in the Stanley Cup final," Mark Anderson, Las Vegas sports reporter for The Associated Press, told CBC News this week. And he's considered a favourite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the most valuable player of his team during the playoffs.

Still, Anderson said he was "a little bit" surprised by how quickly most Vegas fans seemed to welcome the 27-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta. — one of five players from Canada's 2018 World Junior team charged with sexual assault.  

Hart "got a warm ovation when he was introduced" during his first game, Anderson said. "Those are roars now ... because he's playing so well."

Hart testified in his own defence

A woman known under a publication ban as E.M. said she was sexually assaulted for hours in a London, Ont., hotel room. The Crown's case rested on proving that while she did have consensual sex with Michael McLeod, she did not give legal consent to sex acts with other teammates he invited to the room. 

Hart was the only player to testify. He said he had "a good buzz going" and when he saw a text from McLeod that invited the teammates to his room for a "3-way," he replied, "I'm in" because "I was a single guy. I looked at it as an invitation. I assumed he was with a girl who wanted to be in a threesome with another guy." 

Hart is seen entering the courthouse in London, Ont., on July 24, 2025 — the day all five defendants were acquitted. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

Hart testified that he didn't want to have sexual intercourse, so he asked the woman, "'Can I get a blowie,' meaning a blowjob." Hart maintained it was consensual.

Hart, McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were acquitted last July. The judge ruled the prosecution had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt and the allegations lacked sufficient credibility to warrant conviction.

Within months, Vegas signed Hart to a two-year, $4-million US contract.

He's the only one to have signed with an NHL team, although the league cleared all five to play as of Dec. 1, 2025. Foote is playing with Carolina's AHL affiliate. 

'No means no'

While much of the hockey world is focused on Hart's on-ice success, the Golden Knights' playoff run has sparked criticism.

The Vegas roster includes both Hart and forward Brett Howden, who testified as a witness after receiving McLeod's group text message that initiated the events in the hotel room in 2018. Howden, from Oakbank, Man., scored one of the goals in the Knights' 5-4 win Tuesday.

Carolina Hurricanes fans loudly booed Hart as he was introduced and later chanted "no means no," a statement about sexual consent and personal boundaries.

And while there are conflicted Golden Knights fans who are uncomfortable with the behaviour Hart did admit to, Anderson said the main goal is to see their team win. He said others have also argued: "Well, the courts didn't find him guilty, so why should I blame him?"

CBC News reached out to the NHL to ask about the controversy Hart's playoff run has generated, but did not receive a response. 

"It was really nice to see the Canes fans chanting 'no means no' while Hart was playing and Howden was playing," said Kelly Favro. She's a survivor of sexual assault and co-founder of Beyond the Verdict, a group formed to challenge injustice and harmful narratives in Canadian sexual assault trials.

"It shows that the fans are now starting to realize that the NHL isn't really holding anyone accountable right now. And it's really up to the fans to put their money where their mouth is."

Still, Favro said watching Hart's success has been heavy for survivors.

"You are allowed to feel conflicted, you are allowed to be angry, you're allowed to be sad and you're allowed to be disappointed, and those feelings that you have deserve compassion," she said.

Kelly Favro co-founded a group called Beyond the Verdict to challenge injustice and harmful narratives in sexual assault trials. (Submitted by Kelly Favro)

The case shows there's a double standard in sexual assault cases, Favro said. Survivors are told accusations "ruin lives and careers," yet elite athletes continue to compete and be celebrated at the highest levels.

Meanwhile, the complainant's life has been permanently altered. E.M. has faced years of public scrutiny, doxxing and victim-blaming, Favro said. 

CBC News reached out to E.M. through her lawyer but she declined to do an interview, saying she is still traumatized by what happened in court.

'Stones were left unturned'

Because the Crown decided not to appeal, a higher court won't look at the trial judge's decision or legal reasoning, so Brandon Trask, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Law, said it's up to the legal community to do that.

"What's the point if we don't learn from this to try to improve our systems going forward?"

Trask, who is currently writing a book about the case, said it's still "front and centre" in the minds of many of his students, fellow law professors and legal experts, and it also has implications for other sexual assault trials.

"Justice isn't an outcome. Justice is a process."

University of Manitoba’s Brandon Trask is writing a book about the World Juniors hockey trial. (Warren Kay/CBC)

The case has also inspired a special edition of the Criminal Law Quarterly, a prominent Canadian legal journal, that's set to come out this fall.

"There was a general sentiment in the legal community that stones were left unturned in the case and that an appeal was likely warranted," said Colton Fehr, a University of Saskatchewan associate law professor and one of the editors of the issue.

Legal academics have been asked to provide critical analysis of how the Crown and judge handled the case and what could have been done differently, he said.

5 players still can't represent Canada 

During the NHL's media day on Monday, Hart was asked how he's changed since the verdict.

"I've learned a lot. I've grown a lot since then," he said. "I think the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation has done a really good job of making it easy for me to integrate into the community."

Vegas staff didn't allow any follow-up questions and ended the news conference after just six minutes.

Hart speaks to the media on Monday ahead of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Regardless of who wins the Stanley Cup, Hart — and the four other men — are still ineligible to participate in Hockey Canada teams or events.

All five are appealing the internal code of conduct investigation that barred them. Hockey Canada spokesperson Jeremy Knight declined to comment "to ensure we do not interfere with the integrity of the appeal process" by an independent board.

Anderson, who's covering the Golden Knights' playoff run, said it makes sense that Hockey Canada might have different standards and legal obligations than the NHL, which has to consider the players' right to work.

"It's more of an honour to be part of Team Canada and also, if you're talking about representing one's country, I do think character is a factor," he said. 

"If they feel like those players would bring dishonour to Canada, it's hard to argue that stance."