A start date for the sexual assault trial involving Carter Hart and four other players on Canada's 2018 world junior team could be known in about a month.
A trial start date will be scheduled when the case returns to court on June 11, an Ontario Superior Court spokesperson confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia on Wednesday. As reported in April, the trial does not appear to begin until the start of the 2024-25 NHL season.
The Flyers begin training camp in September and begin the regular season in October.
Hart has been away from the team since January 23, when he requested and was granted an indefinite leave of absence.
On February 5, police in London and Ontario charged Hart, the Flames' Dillon Dube, the Devils' Cal Foote and Michael McLeod with sexual assault stemming from an incident in June 2018. NHLer Alex Formenton has been charged with sexual assault.
A week after the goaltender left the Flyers, Hart's legal representatives said, “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false allegation in the appropriate forum, in court.”
At Danny Briere's end-of-season press conference on April 19, the general manager did not provide any updates on Hart's status. The Flyers will enter camp with a goaltending tandem of Samuel Elson and Ivan Fedotov.
Hart, who turns 26 in August, will be a restricted free agent this offseason. He was in the final year of a three-year, $11.937 million contract. In June, the Flyers could extend a qualifying offer to retain the rights.
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