The Vegas Golden Knights announced on Thursday that goaltender Carter Hart has joined the team on a professional tryout. The decision came after the NHL and NHLPA allowed Hart to return to play following his acquittal in a 2018 sexual assault case involving members of Canada’s World Junior team.In their statement, the Golden Knights said they supported the league’s process and shared their commitment to maintaining the standards that define the organization.“We remain committed to the core values that have defined our organization from its inception and expect that our players will continue to meet these standards moving forward,” the team said.Inside the locker room, the reaction was reportedly positive. Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel shared his thoughts on the signing and showed support for his new teammate.“When you speak to people who know Carter [Hart], they have a lot of good things to say about his character and who he is as a person," Eichel said via insider Hannah Kirkell. "We’re really looking forward to having him and moving forward.”Eichel praised the team culture in Vegas and said the group is excited to have Hart.“I think it’s great,” Eichel said via SinBinVegas. “We have a great group of people in here and culture stemming from ownership and our entire organization. We are looking forward to having him.”For Carter Hart, this is an opportunity to restart his career and move forward. He said joining the Golden Knights felt like the right choice after hearing good things about the team and city.“I’ve thought about it a lot with my family, my agent,” Hart said. “I’ve heard a lot of great things from players that have played here in the past, current players, and they’ve all spoken very highly about the organization, the community here, and the culture that they’ve established. It was very intriguing for me, and I was just looking for a fresh start.”Carter Hart added that his talks with other teams helped him realize that Las Vegas was the best fit.Elliotte Friedman criticizes Golden Knights’ handling of Carter Hart signingNHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared strong thoughts on how the Vegas Golden Knights handled Carter Hart’s professional tryout announcement. Speaking on Friday's "32 Thoughts" podcast, Friedman said management should have addressed the media directly instead of leaving players and coaches to face questions.He felt the decision lacked transparency and accountability.“On the day you sign the player, it’s the people who make that decision who should be front and center,” Friedman said. [57:06 onwards]Friedman added that if the organization wanted to avoid distractions on a game day, they could have chosen a different time to make the news public.