Goaltender Carter Hart, defenceman Cal Foote and forwards Dillon Dub茅, Michael McLeod and Alex Formenton will be eligible to sign with NHL clubs on Oct. 15.
But the five members of Team Canada鈥檚 2018 world junior gold medal team, all recently acquitted in a London sexual assault trial, will remain suspended until Dec. 1 in a deal struck between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.
鈥淲e are pleased that Dillon Dub茅, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod will have the opportunity to resume their NHL careers. The players cooperated with every investigation,鈥 the NHLPA said in a statement.
鈥淯pon their full acquittal by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia, we initiated discussions with the NHL regarding the players鈥 return to work. To avoid a protracted dispute that would cause further delay, we reached the resolution that the league announced today. We now consider the matter closed and look forward to the players鈥 return.鈥
The high-profile sexual assault trial of five former world juniors ended in acquittals on Thursday.
The high-profile sexual assault trial of five former world juniors ended in acquittals on Thursday.
The players were all charged with one count of sexual assault in January 2024, stemming from a June 2018 incident in a London, Ont. hotel room after a Hockey Canada gala to celebrate their gold medal. MacLeod had also been charged with one count of being a party to the offences.
The five players were acquitted of all charges on July 24 after a two-month trial in London as Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled she did not find evidence provided by the complainant 鈥 known to the public as E.M. due to a publication ban on her identity 鈥 “either credible or reliable.”
The Crown has chosen not to appeal the players’ acquittals.
Though they were acquitted, the league had been conducting its own investigation, resulting in a suspension until Dec. 1.
鈥淚n relying on both our own investigation, and the conclusions reached by Justice Carroccia in her opinion, and the players鈥 acquittal, the league has determined that the conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the league and its member clubs expect and demand,鈥 the NHL said in a statement.
鈥淭he league expects everyone connected with the game to conduct themselves with the highest level of moral integrity. And, in this case, while found not to have been criminal, the conduct of the players involved certainly did not meet that standard.鈥
Four of the five had been on leave of absences from their teams to face charges. Formenton was not in the NHL. The five are now unrestricted free agents, their contracts having expired.
- Hart, a second-round pick in 2016, had a record of 96-93-29 with the Philadelphia Flyers. He did not play last season.
- Dub茅, also a second-round pick in 2016, had 57 goals and 70 assists in 325 career games, all with the Calgary Flames. He played in the KHL last year.
- McLeod, a first-round pick in 2016, had 20 goals, 56 assists in 287 games, all with the New Jersey Devils. He played in the KHL last year.
- Foote, a first-round draft pick in 2017 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, had five goals and 15 assists in 145 games for Tampa, Nashville and New Jersey. He played in Slovakia last season.
- Formenton did not play last season. He had 23 goals, 16 assists in 109 games for the Ottawa Senators but hasn鈥檛 been in the NHL since the 2021-22 season. He has signed with HC Ambr矛-Piotta of the Swiss league, where he spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 season.
Each will be on a short leash should they return to the league.
鈥淭he league expects and requires that, going forward, each of the players will uphold the standards required of NHL players both on and off the ice,鈥 the league said.
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