Legal analyst makes bold claim about Carter Hart's NHL return following Hockey Canada 'not guilty' verdict

Legal and sports analyst Eric Macramalla shared his view on Carter Hart’s NHL future. He believes Hart could return to the league as early as next season. Macramalla also talked about the 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault case verdict.

Hart and four other players were found not guilty of sexual assault on Thursday. The charges were linked to an alleged incident in a London, Ontario, hotel room in 2018, which involved members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior Hockey Team. The judge said the Crown did not prove its case and found the complainant’s evidence not reliable.

Macramalla said he does not expect an appeal or any civil lawsuit from the players. He noted that the NHLPA believes the players should be allowed to return to work.

"The players are going to walk," Macramalla said on Friday (7:20), via TSN's "First Up." "I don't see an appeal. I don't see a civil lawsuit filed by the players. And I see Carter Hart playing in the NHL maybe as soon as next season; the NHLPA said they should be allowed to play. They should be allowed to engage in gainful employment."

Macramalla also mentioned the NHL's statement, where it said that the players are still not eligible to play while it reviews the court's decision.

"The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptabl," the statement read. "We will be reviewing and considering the judge's findings."

Macramall added that the league is weighing the business risk. He called it a cost-benefit analysis.

"What the translation is, we are assessing the cost benefit," Macramalla said. "We are engaged in a cost-benefit analysis to see if having Carter Hart play for a team like, I don't know, the Oilers or something, if that's going to present an issue, that's what they're looking at."

Macramalla used the Edmonton Oilers as an example because of their goalie situation.

Why are the Edmonton Oilers linked to Carter Hart?

The Edmonton Oilers' main goalie, Stuart Skinner, has failed to help the team in two consecutive Stanley Cup finals. They lost to the Florida Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky both times.

The Oilers don't have a suitable goalie option to acquire due to the lack of good goalies in the league; however, rumors have linked them to Carter Hart.

Eric Macramalla believes Hart will likely return.

"I think that Carter Hart is going to play again in the NHL," Macramalla said on Friday, via TSN's "First Up." "We know there's a dearth of goaltending in the NHL. He's been acquitted."

According to Macramalla, the only thing stopping Hart from playing again is whether teams see a business risk. The NHL has not said when its review will end or when the players could become eligible.