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Hockey Canada players acquitted in sexual assault trial ineligible to play in NHL until December
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski/USA Today Sports
Ryan Pike
Sep 12, 2025, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 11, 2025, 20:00 EDT
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On Thursday afternoon, the National Hockey League announced a return-to-eligibility plan for the five players who were acquitted in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, stemming from reported discussions with the NHL’s Players’ Associations and meetings between the league and respective players.
Per the league’s media release, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod will be eligible to sign contracts with NHL clubs starting Oct. 15, but they’re not eligible to play in NHL games until Dec. 1.
Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, “part of the agreement is that the players have given up their right to appeal.” Under the terms of the CBA, usually a hearing would be required to be held by commissioner Gary Bettman to determine appropriate supplemental discipline for off-ice conduct, which would then be subject to potential subsequent appeals.
Here are some excerpts from the league’s statement:
“In relying on both our own investigation, and the conclusions reached by Justice Carroccia in her opinion, and the players’ 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.”
“Given their conduct, we carefully evaluated the players’ acquittal in court and the time spent away from the game. Taking into account that the players have been away from the game for 20 months – including since their acquittals in July — we have determined that the players will be eligible to sign an NHL contract no sooner than October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games no sooner than December 1, 2025, bringing their total time out of the League to nearly two years.”
“The 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.”
The league’s full statement can be read here on their site.
A second-round pick by the Calgary Flames in 2016, Dube last played in the NHL with the Flames during the 2023-24 season, posting seven points in 43 games. He last played anywhere in 2024-25, posting 11 points in 42 games with the KHL’s Barys Astana.
A first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017, Foote last played in the NHL with New Jersey during the 2023-24 season, posting one point in four games. He last played anywhere in 2024-25, posting 30 points in 38 games with Slovakia’s HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas.
A second-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2017, Formenton last played in the NHL with Ottawa in 2021-22, posting 32 points in 79 games. He last played anywhere in 2023-24, posting 16 points in 24 games with Switzerland’s HC Ambri-Piotta. He has recently signed a contract to return to that Swiss club.
A second-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2016, Hart last played anywhere with the Flyers in 2023-24, going 12-9-3 over 26 games with a 2.80 goals against average and .906 save percentage.
A first-round pick by New Jersey in 2016, McLeod last played in the NHL with New Jersey in 2023-24, posting 19 points in 45 games. He last played anywhere in 2024-25, posting 19 points in 35 games while splitting his season between the KHL’s Barys Astana and Avangard Omsk.
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