The five hockey players acquitted on sexual assault charges in the Hockey Canada trial will be eligible to return to the NHL later this year, the league announced\u00a0Thursday.<\/p>\n
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dub\u00e9 and Cal Foote are officially unrestricted free agents, per the decision, and can sign contracts with any team. The contracts can be registered with the NHL on Oct. 15, and the players can appear in a game on Dec. 1. They can begin conditioning with a team on Nov. 15, according to a league source.<\/p>\n
Formenton is a Group 2 restricted free agent who remains on the Ottawa Senators\u2019 reserve list. That means he has to sign with the team by Dec. 1 to be eligible for NHL games this season. Like the other players, he can begin conditioning Nov. 15 and playing games Dec. 1, but he signed a contract with the Swiss team Ambr\u00ec-Piotta last week that runs through the international break in December, making his situation somewhat murky.<\/p>\n
The league had stated after the verdicts were announced on July 24 that it would be \u201creviewing and considering\u201d the findings of Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia.<\/p>\n
All five players had been charged with sexual assault in connection to an alleged incident in June 2018 in which a woman known publicly as E.M. \u2014 her identity is protected by a publication ban \u2014 said she was sexually assaulted over the span of several hours in a London, Ont., hotel room. The players were in town for a Hockey Canada event celebrating their victory at the World Junior Championship earlier that year. McLeod had also been charged with being party to the offense.<\/p>\n
In her decision, Carroccia said the prosecution had not proven its case and that she did not find the evidence of the complainant \u201ccredible or reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M., and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me,\u201d Carroccia said.<\/p>\n
Later that day, the NHL announced that the players remained ineligible. The collective bargaining agreement gives commissioner Gary Bettman considerable power to punish players for off-ice conduct deemed harmful to the league, including actions that don\u2019t result in criminal convictions. Article 18-A grants Bettman the ability to expel, suspend or fine players or cancel their contracts following a league investigation and hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing, and the behavior at issue was unacceptable,\u201d the league said in its July 24 statement.<\/p>\n
The league reiterated that Thursday, saying in its statement that it \u201chas determined that the conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the league and its member clubs expect and demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of the players, based on in-person meetings with the league following the verdicts, expressed regret and remorse for his actions,\u201d the statement continue. \u201cNevertheless, we believe their conduct requires formal league-imposed discipline.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven their conduct, we carefully evaluated the players\u2019 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 \u2014 including since their acquittals in July \u2014 we have determined that the players will be eligible to sign an NHL contract no sooner than Oct. 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games no sooner than Dec. 1, 2025, bringing their total time out of the league to nearly two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NHL Players\u2019 Association took issue with the NHL\u2019s statement from July, saying in its own statement at the time that the league\u2019s approach was \u201cinconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA\u201d and that they planned to \u201caddress the dispute.\u201d<\/p>\n