NHL sets return date for players acquitted in sexual assault trial
The NHL is clearing a path for the five players acquitted of sexual assault in the Hockey Canada case to return to the league in December.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote had been found not guilty in a London, Ontario, courthouse on July 24 of one count each of sexual assault. McLeod was also found not guilty of being a party to the offense.
The league said on Thursday, Sept. 11, that it viewed further discipline as necessary, and the players can’t return to play until Dec. 1. They’re eligible to sign with an NHL team no sooner than Oct. 15.
The players had been in London in June 2018 for a Hockey Canada gala honoring the gold medal-winning world junior championship team. Police, whose initial investigation led to no charges, reopened the case and charged the five in February 2024. They said the alleged assaults took place in a hotel room after the defendants had met the woman, then 20, at a downtown bar.
Justice Maria Carroccia, who handled the rest of the two-month trial after the jury was dismissed, said she didn’t find the accuser’s evidence ‘credible or reliable’ and that prosecutors didn’t meet their burden of proof. She found the five not guilty.
What the NHL said on Thursday
‘The events that transpired after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala in London, Ontario, prior to these players’ arrival in the NHL, were deeply troubling and unacceptable,’ the NHL said in its Sept. 11 statement. ‘The 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.’
The league added: ‘Each of the players, based on in-person meetings with the League following the verdicts, expressed regret and remorse for his actions. Nevertheless, we believe their conduct requires formal League-imposed discipline.’
The NHL noted that the players will have been out of the league nearly two years by the time they are eligible to play.
‘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 statement said.
What NHL Players’ Association said on Thursday
The NHL didn’t reinstate the players after the acquittals, saying it wanted to review the case. The NHL Players’ Association said at the time that it disagreed with the league’s decision.
The NHLPA put out the following statement after the league’s Sept. 11 ruling.
“We are pleased that Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod will have the opportunity to resume their NHL careers. The players cooperated with every investigation. Upon their full acquittal by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia, we initiated discussions with the NHL regarding the players’ 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’ return.’