Has Carter Hart played his last game for the Flyers?

John Tortorella benched Carter Hart after the second period of the Flyers’ 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 20.

That might have been the last time Hart ever wears a Flyers sweater.

It should be.

On Tuesday, Hart’s lawyers, Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani of Toronto-based firm Savard Foy, confirmed a report from TSN that named Hart as one of five professional hockey players facing charges in connection to an alleged 2018 sexual assault.

» READ MORE: Carter Hart charged with sexual assault in connection to 2018 Hockey Canada incident, lawyers say

“We act for Carter Hart and confirm he has been charged with one count of sexual assault,” read the statement from Savard Foy. “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false allegation in the proper forum, a court of law. Until then, we have no comment.”

The Flyers had announced on Jan. 23 that Hart “requested and was granted an indefinite leave of absence, citing personal reasons.” The team at the time denied knowing the reason for Hart’s leave. Hart spent the next six days subject to assumptions that he and four 2018 Canadian World Junior teammates, who had also taken leaves of absence from their professional teams around that time, would be charged.

The five players are accused of a group sexual assault alleged to have taken place in London, Ontario, six years ago, a case with a shelf life that reeks of either incompetence or, much worse, indifference.

London police investigated the incident until 2019. Hockey Canada investigated until 2020. Both investigations closed without levying charges or punishments. However, after the alleged victim filed a lawsuit in April 2022 against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed players from the 2018 team, both the police and Hockey Canada, faced with public pressure, political insistence, and funding threats, reopened the case.

On Jan. 24, five unnamed members from that 2018 team reportedly were told to surrender to London police. Alex Formenton, formerly of the Ottawa Senators, turned himself in on Sunday. Lawyers representing Hart, Calgary’s Dillon Dubé, and New Jersey’s Michael McLeod and Cal Foote confirmed Tuesday that their clients are also facing charges in connection to the alleged 2018 incident.

Not long ago, Hart was the centerpiece of the Flyers’ rebuild: a levelheaded 25-year-old devoted to his craft, the “franchise goaltender” for which the Flyers had searched since the man who drafted him, Ron Hextall, wore goalie pads himself.

Now he’s gone.

Will he ever return? The NHL is conducting its own investigation, which could result in suspensions, contract terminations, or expulsions. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which any of the five players would return to their clubs, considering the massive distraction their presence would bring.

The Phillies made this mistake. They allowed Odúbel Herrera back in their clubhouse.

Major League Baseball suspended Herrera for 85 games in 2019 for allegedly committing violence against a woman. He was accused of choking his girlfriend so hard that he left a handprint on her throat.

The collective bargaining agreement didn’t allow the Phillies to suspend him further, and their lack of self-awareness and their reluctance to write off his $10 million salary didn’t allow them to keep him away from the big league team. Since he was on a minor league roster, he spent the truncated COVID-19 season of 2020 out of sight (there was no minor league season). But, with a new manager and general manager in 2021, he reported to triple A out of spring training.

The Phillies could have cut him. They chose to keep him. They chose to call him up in April, creating a clubhouse distraction. Then, after they bought out the remainder of his deal for $1 million, they chose to re-sign him in 2022 for $1.75 million. He compiled a toothless .658 OPS before he was released on Aug. 6. Coincidentally, perhaps, the Phillies charged all the way to a World Series appearance after his departure.

He was out of Major League Baseball in 2023.

Hart will be a restricted free agent after this season. The Flyers could choose not to make him a qualifying offer and rid themselves of the headache altogether. If the Flyers do make him a qualifying offer, which would be $4.479 million a year, according to capfriendly.com, other clubs could sign him to a contract. The Flyers would retain the right of first refusal and the ability to match any offer sheet from an opposing team. They would receive draft-pick compensation if they allowed him to sign with someone else.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman can step in before then and suspend the players for off-ice conduct. These suspensions can be handed out “where the failure to suspend the player during this period would create a substantial risk of material harm to the legitimate interests and/or reputation of the league,” according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Bettman took this measure in 2014 with Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov, who was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Voynov was suspended immediately, later had his contract terminated by the Kings, and never played in the NHL again.

» READ MORE: What we know about the Hockey Canada sexual assault investigation

Most of that is not even on the map today, and it seems far-fetched as well. If Hart leaves? His departure just seems inevitable.

Might his departure actually be good for the team?

This is a relatively progressive group. Would the players want a teammate who is, or has been, accused of such a crime?

And is he even worth the bother?

Hart has given up at least four goals in four of hislast nine games. He’s been splitting time with Samuel Ersson, a 24-year-old Swede who has been the most pleasant surprise for the Flyers in years.

Certainly, the Flyers have been preparing for Hart’s departure, had it happened in the normal course of events or otherwise. They drafted three goalies in the second or third rounds of the 2021 and 2023 drafts. They believe Alexei Kolosov, a 22-year-old from Belarus who is playing in the KHL, should be ready for next season.

They seem to be provisioned to end the Carter Hart Era — an era that should end anyway, regardless of the hockey implications.

The NHL clearly believes it cannot take another public relations hit related to sexual assault after the Chicago Blackhawks scandals. Former Blackhawks prospect Kyle Beach sued the team for inaction after he reported being sexually assaulted by a video coach in 2010 during their Stanley Cup run that ended with a six-game win over the Flyers.

That suit was settled in 2021 and resulted in the resignation of two Blackhawks executives and the former Blackhawks coach, who by 2021 had joined another team.

In November, another prospect from the 2010 team filed a separate suit alleging similar acts in the same time frame and the team’s inaction.

The video coach, Brad Aldrich, resigned from the Blackhawks soon after the accusations but found employment elsewhere before being convicted of having sexual contact with a minor while serving as a high school coach in Michigan.

Major League Baseball is on the verge of welcoming Trevor Bauer back after 2½ years. Bauer was accused of sexual assault and suspended by MLB through 2022, when he was also accused by two other women of similar acts. He also was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was never charged and has maintained his innocence, and had his suspension shortened, but he was effectively shunned in 2023, forcing him to pitch in Japan. He almost certainly will be signed as a free agent this year.

Few athletes have endured the sort of pressure of expectations Hart has experienced since he was a prospect. The Phillies haven’t seen this since Pat Burrell, the Sixers haven’t seen it since Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and the Eagles haven’t seen it since Carson Wentz. How did those fellas fare?

And what type of player might he emerge as after a sexual assault trial and a league investigation?

The Flyers would be best served to never find out.