Four of the five Canadian world junior players accused of sexual assault in a June 2018 incident in London, Ont., have been fired by their NHL teams after not receiving a qualifying offer before Sunday’s deadline.
Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, and Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils are now unrestricted free agents. They have each been on paid leave from their teams since late January, when they were ordered to turn themselves in to London police to face sexual assault charges.
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One Night in London: Sexual Assault Allegations and the Account of Hockey Canada
A trial date has not yet been set. It was up to each team to decide whether it wanted to issue a qualifying offer by Sunday’s 5pm ET deadline to retain the NHL rights to those players, and the Flyers, Flames and Devils all decided against it.
Had they done so, and the offers had been accepted (which they almost certainly would have), the players would have continued to be paid while they remained on leave, while the legal process continued throughout what could end up being the entirety of next season.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that there are currently no restrictions on their ability to sign with another team immediately. The athlete on Sunday night, but it will likely be difficult for any of them to do so, given all the uncertainty surrounding their positions.
The NHL Players Association has held discussions in recent weeks about the possibility of freezing players’ status until a trial is held, according to league sources familiar with those talks, but they have been unable to reach an agreement on how to make that work.
Hart, Dobbie, McLeod and Foote could explore opportunities to continue their careers in Europe – with Alex Formenton, the fifth player to play for them, having spent the last two seasons in Switzerland with HC Ambri-Pyota.
Formenton’s NHL rights will remain with the Ottawa Senators through July 1, 2027, as he received a qualifying offer that he did not accept after the 2021-22 NHL season, and was then moved to their reserve list.
The five players face charges over the June 2018 incident inside a room at the Delta London Armouries hotel after a Hockey Canada gala where the world junior team celebrated its gold medal win.
Two counts of sexual assault were brought against McLeod, and one each against Dube, Foote, Formenton and Hart.
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