NHL says the 5 players acquitted of sexual assault are ineligible to join league, NHLPA pushes back
The charges dated back to an incident in 2018, when the players were in London for a gala and golf tournament in honor of their championship win as part of Canada's world junior hockey team. A woman, known as E.M. in the trial, alleged that the players sexually assaulted her over several hours in a hotel room after the event, but the judge, Maria Carroccia, found that the prosecution had not proven the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
With the Hockey Canada trial complete, the NHL has determined that the five players involved in the trial will be ineligible to play in the league — bluntly answering post-trial questions about the players' hockey futures.
"The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptable. We will be reviewing and considering the judge's findings," the league said in Friday's statement. "While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the League."
The NHL Players' Association quickly pushed back on the decision, releasing its own statement defending the players and saying that they are "addressing this dispute with the League."
"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 said. "After missing more than a full season of their respective NHL careers, they should now have the opportunity to return to work. The NHL's 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."
McLeod, Dubé and Hart were all selected in the 2016 NHL Draft, while Foote and Formenton were drafted in 2017.
Despite the alleged incident occurring in 2018, charges were not filed until February 2024; those charges prompting all five players to take an immediate leave of absence from hockey.
At the time, four of the five players were playing in the NHL: McLeod and Foote played for the New Jersey Devils, Dubé for the Calgary Flames and Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers. Formenton, who previously played for the Ottawa Senators, was playing in the National League in Switzerland at the time.
During the year and a half between the charges being filed and Thursday's verdict, two of the players joined other teams, with McLeod spending some time in the Russian KHL and Foote joining the Slovakian league. It is unclear whether the players will try to play in Europe while being barred from the NHL.
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