Suspended by the NHL After Being Cleared in Sexual Assault Case
The NHL has announced that five former Hockey Canada players, acquitted of sexual assault charges in July, will be suspended at the start of the 2025-26 season. However, they will be able to return to competition starting December 1st. Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod, members of the 2018 Hockey Canada World Junior team, faced criminal charges in early 2024 for an alleged incident that occurred after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala in London, Ontario. In July, Judge Maria Carroccia of the Ontario Superior Court found the five players not guilty of sexual assault. McLeod was also acquitted of a separate charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault. The NHL indicated that players would not be eligible to play until they were reinstated. The league and the NHLPA jointly negotiated player eligibility for this season. At the time of the charges, four of the players were active in the NHL and took an indefinite leave: Dubé, forward for the Calgary Flames; Hart, starting goaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers; and McLeod (center) and Foote (defense), members of the New Jersey Devils organization. Currently, the five are NHL free agents and can sign contracts starting October 15th.The NHLPA stated that it was “satisfied that [the players] have the opportunity to resume” their careers in the NHL. “The players cooperated with all investigations. Following their complete exoneration by Judge Maria Carroccia, we initiated conversations with the NHL regarding the players’ return to work. To avoid a prolonged dispute that would cause further delays, we reached the resolution that the league announced today. We now consider the matter closed and look forward to the players’ return,” the NHLPA said in a statement. Since May 2022, the NHL has been conducting its own investigation, calling the 2018 incident “deeply troubling and unacceptable.” The third-party investigation included “interviews with all team players and several other relevant parties who were willing to meet with us, and the examination of hundreds of documents, videos, and texts [involved in the case].” “Each of the players, based on in-person meetings with the League after the verdicts, expressed regret and remorse for their actions. However, we believe that their conduct requires formal discipline imposed by the League,” the NHL stated in a statement. “The League expects and demands that, in the future, each of the players maintain the standards required of NHL players both on and off the ice.” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said teams were already asking about the eligibility of the Hockey Canada players who were cleared before their return was announced. Hart and Dubé are expected to generate the most interest from NHL teams. Dubé, 27, played six seasons with the Flames and had consecutive 18-goal campaigns from 2021 to 2023. Hart, 27, played six seasons as a Flyers goaltender with a .906 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average in 227 games.“Considering that the players have been out of the game for 20 months, even since their acquittals in July, we have determined that the players will be eligible to sign an NHL contract starting October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games starting December 1, 2025, bringing their total time out of the league to almost two years,” the NHL stated in a statement.
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