The five former members of Canada\u2019s world junior hockey team were acquitted in the high-profile London, Ont., sexual assault trial Thursday, but the jury is still out on whether or not they\u2019ll be able to resume their NHL careers.<\/p>\n
A few hours after the judge\u2019s decision, the NHL said Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dub\u00e9 and Cal Foote would be ineligible to play while the league reviews the findings.<\/p>\n
The NHLPA responded that its players should \u201chave the opportunity to return to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
The players were found not guilty of all charges in an encounter with a woman in a hotel room seven years ago, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled.<\/p>\n
The NHL stated the allegations in the case were \u201cvery disturbing,\u201d even if not deemed criminal. The league also called the behaviour of the players \u201cunacceptable.”<\/p>\n
“We will be reviewing and considering the judge’s findings,” the statement read. “While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NHLPA said ruling the players ineligible while the NHL further evaluates the case does not align with the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n
“Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod were acquitted of all charges by Justice Carroccia of the Ontario Superior Court,” the NHLPA’s statement read. “After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work. The NHL\u2019s declaration that the Players are ‘ineligible’ to play pending its further analysis of the Court’s findings is inconsistent with the discipline procedures set forth in the CBA.<\/p>\n
“We are addressing this dispute with the League and will have no further comment at this time.”<\/p>\n
McLeod, Hart, Dub\u00e9 and Foote were active NHL players at the time of their 2024 arrests, which came days after all four players were granted leave from their clubs. Formenton, an Ottawa Senators<\/a> draft pick, has not played in the NHL since 2022.<\/p>\n At the time of the incident in 2018, Formenton had played one NHL game, while Foote, McLeod and Dub\u00e9 had brief stints with their clubs\u2019 American Hockey League affiliates.<\/p>\n While the NHL\u2019s review is taking place, experts believe it\u2019s possible players will eventually return to the NHL ice.<\/p>\n Ann Pegoraro, a sport management professor at the University of Guelph, said the NHL has not often come down hard on cases of sexual assault or domestic violence.<\/p>\n She added that teams would evaluate whether the benefits of a player\u2019s talent outweigh the risks of fan backlash and potential loss of sponsors.<\/p>\n \u201cHockey has a very different culture and has a lot more, I would say, latitude in the way that they look at individuals’ personal behaviours,\u201d Pegoraro said. \u201cDo I think they’ll end up back on teams? I think if their skills are good enough, some teams \u2014 not all teams \u2014 but some teams will look the other way and put them back on rosters if they can contribute to the team.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the players were not convicted, their reputations may still carry the weight of the allegations, said Richard McLaren, a law professor at Western University and a longtime member of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve seen that in many sexual harassment type situations, and it doesn’t just disappear because the case is over,\u201d said McLaren, who\u2019s also a labour and commercial arbitrator and mediator with McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP.<\/p>\n There are recent examples of people returning to the NHL despite being at the centre of sexual assault controversies.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> signed Jake Virtanen to a professional tryout less than two months after the former Vancouver Canuck was found not guilty in a sexual assault trial in Vancouver. The Oilers ultimately released Virtanen, who resumed his career in Europe.<\/p>\n Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville \u2014 the general manager and head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> scandal in 2010 \u2014 are both back in the NHL after failing to act on Kyle Beach\u2019s claims that video coach Brad Aldrich had sexually assaulted him.<\/p>\n Bowman became the Oilers GM last year and Quenneville was hired as head coach of the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> in May. Both needed to be reinstated by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.<\/p>\n