Flyers’ Carter Hart, Agent Not Seeking Out KHL Teams

At the end of March, there was a crazy, unfounded rumor that Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart was to receive a contract offer from KHL club Ak Bars Kazan. And, as it turns out, Hart and his agent, Judd Moldaver, aren’t seeking out the KHL either.

That is, according to fellow agent Aljosa Pliko, who notably represents top Flyers goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov, among others.

When Championat asked Pliko how difficult it is to bring North American goaltenders to the KHL, Pliko answered, “It’s very difficult to bring.

“There is, for example, Canadian Carter Hart, who has his own situation. I have been friends with his NHL agent, Judd Moldaver, who also represents the likes of Auston Matthews. We are in touch, but the task of finding a team for Hart in Russia at the moment has not been received.”

Hart, 25, took a personal leave of absence on Jan. 23 and was charged with one count of sexual assault one week later. Hart has been away from the team ever since; the charge has not been proven in court, and a trial is not expected to take place until 2025.

Until said trial takes place, it would be very unrealistic to expect Canada to allow Hart out of the country to play for a team based in Russia, a nation on which Canada has imposed over 100 sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine.

Hart is still a Flyers player until June, though he will become a restricted free agent this summer. It is currently unclear whether the Flyers plan to issue a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights. If they do not issue Hart a qualifying offer by 5 p.m. EST on June 25, Hart will become an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any NHL team.

Further to that point, if Hart is qualified and does not sign by December 1, he will be ineligible to play in the NHL in the 2024-25 season.

Flyers general manager Danny Briere shared during his exit interview that there is nothing new to report on Hart and that they have not received any “direction” from the NHL on how to proceed.

We can now, however, ascertain that the KHL was not and is not currently a path Hart and Moldaver are exploring to continue Hart’s playing career.

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