The stories won’t go away that two players involved in the Hockey Canada Five trial this past summer are being pursued by Carolina. Following the
story last week from David Pagnotta that the Canes were looking in on Center Michael McLeod, further reporting from reporters
like Chris Johnston of
The Athletic and
Frank Seravalli of
Bleacher Report have now linked former Philadelphia Flyers Goalie Carter Hart with the Hurricanes. Then on Wednesday Night, while the Hurricanes were in the midst of their 4-2 Preseason loss to the Florida Panthers, former Canes beat writer Sara Civian—now of
Bleacher Report and her own
The Civ Report—dropped a post on X/Twitter that further explained the interest.
I've heard that Tom Dundon wants to get "justice" for these "young men" who he believes were wronged. Don't sue me I have one dollar
https://t.co/WHZvZv78lM
— Sara (@SaraCivian)
September 24, 2025
None of the players involved are allowed to register a deal with the NHL until October 15th, though they can actually agree to terms on a deal starting next Wednesday, October 1st. Said player can’t actually play with the club at the NHL level until December 1st.
Let’s get a few things noted here from the start:
- The Canes are clearly not the only team interested in players meaning that it is likely that at least these two will be given a chance by someone
- If what Civian heard is true, it is very unlikely you’re going to get anything from current members of the team or coaching staff by name on this because they typically don’t handle their business through the press.
- As mentioned last week, a lot of people are not chronically on-line and have very little idea of the full scope of allegations in this messy business.
In looking at the current roster for the Hurricanes and seeing the cost/benefit analysis of these two players I’m just left to say: these two are just not worth the cost.
We can sit here and debate the hows and whys of what led us to this point. I’m fully aware that I don’t have the capacity to speak as someone that might be triggered or affected by the discussion of the events. I’m also fully aware that not everyone who may have been affected by similar events are going to react the same way.
So when I say they aren’t worth the cost it’s not about what they did or didn’t do back in June 2018. It’s solely about what these two bring to the here and now and this roster construction of the Hurricanes when weighed with the ton of negativity they bring.
To some extent I do understand the interest in Hart. Unfortunately for Pyotr Kochetkov he hasn’t risen up to the point to where he’s shown he can be your first goalie. He has great periods and is chaos on ice, but also has bad stretches and by the end of last season just had fallen flat. Frederick Andersen has been great when he’s played—and he wasn’t the reason the Canes were knocked out of the playoffs last season—but his injury history and age mean he’s just not the long term answer.
Here’s the thing, though—Hart hasn’t played professionally anywhere since his suspension. When he signs, he hasn’t earned the right to be in an NHL net and in any other circumstance should at least spend a season in the AHL. Even with that, it’s not like he’s shown himself to be a better goalie than Kochetkov.
His stats show him with a 96-93 record, a 2.94 GAA, and .906 save percentage. He started red hot but before his suspension cooled down to that .906 level.
Kochetkov, meanwhile is 65-36 with a 2.47 GAA and .905 save percentage. He’s a year younger than Hart yet has only played in three full NHL seasons while Hart has played in six. In effect, you’d be signing another Kochetkov that’s older, not in playing shape, and carries baggage around that could affect his ceiling.
I alluded a little about McLeod last week, in that his ceiling may only be that of a fourth line center. While goalies develop at different rates, by the time you hit your mid 20’s as a forward there really isn’t much more room to grow, especially when you have four full NHL seasons under your belt and your chance to shine in a “lesser” league like the KHL didn’t really amount to much. He’s effectively a late added PTO that you stick in Chicago to bring up once in a while if you have an injury—and the Canes already have that or can easily get their hands on it without the baggage he carries.
The baggage for both is a real thing. There is a significant portion of the fanbase that is not happy that this element is potentially coming to the Canes, and it will only grow if the signings happen. This isn’t a summer signing that people will instantly forget, it’s right at the start of the season and then keeps coming in waves. You have the actual signing right as the season is getting off the ground—meaning every player in the locker room and every coach will have to answer for it. You’ll have the local media running “what is this trial that these players were involved in?” stories where details of the testimony will come out. This area is a very unique that where some will be angered at the actions in one direction, others will be in another, and either way it’s going to be a rough topic of conversation.
That’s just when the signing happens. Then you have when they first play in December, be it here or most likely in Chicago. For Hart you’ll have to make even more goaltender moves in order to allow him to get his desired playing time. The crease is already crowded, and as Amir Miftakov showed on Wednesday Night, they need to play somewhere to develop and get better. Let’s also not forget that whenever the team heads into a game in Canada, the media up there will swarm on the team to ask their feelings on the signings—if not force the team to make the players available to where they have to talk about it all again.
This isn’t a Tony D’Angelo situation, as much as folks would like to say it’s similar. These players have admitted to behavior that many aren’t going to agree with. This isn’t a social issue or one where there’s a locker room concern. The move is likely going to alienate many more fans, and create situations where home fans are audibly booing one of their own while they try to play. That doesn’t create a good product on the ice. It’s not like these two have shown themselves to be Igor Shesterkin and Sidney Crosby. Their skill level is obtainable in other ways, and without the need to have to defend it in the court of public opinion, with advertisers, or with the other players.
I hope Hart and McLeod realize that Carolina may not be the easy landing spot they were hoping for and that those that have opinions make them known to those who make decisions. Let the season start to play out. Too many teams think they are going to compete this year and then realize they, in fact, aren’t and moves can be made.
In short, let Carter Hart and Michael McLeod be someone else’s problem to explain away. This squad has too many feel-good stories on it to be overshadowed.
