Five Canadian World Junior players were accused of sexual assault in a June 2018 incident in London, Ont., and four were released by NHL teams after they did not receive qualifying offers by Sunday’s deadline.
Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils are all now unrestricted free agents. They have been on paid leave from their respective teams since late January, when they were ordered to surrender to London police to face sexual assault charges.
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One Night in London: Sexual Assault Allegations and Hockey Canada’s Reckoning
A trial date has not yet been set. It was up to each team to decide whether to make a qualifying offer before Sunday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline to retain those players’ NHL rights, and the Flyers, Flames and Devils all decided against it.
If they do so, and the offer is accepted (which they almost certainly will), the players will continue to be paid while remaining on leave as the legal process is likely to last throughout next season.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Dailey confirmed there are currently no restrictions on their ability to sign with another team immediately Competitor Sunday night. But given all the uncertainty of their situation, it might be difficult for any of them to do that.
The NHL and NHL Players Association have held discussions in recent weeks about potentially freezing players’ status until a trial, but have been unable to agree on how to accomplish that, according to league sources familiar with the negotiations.
Hart, Dube, McLeod and Foote are likely to explore opportunities to continue their careers in Europe – with a fifth player to play alongside them, Alex Formenton, in the last two Played in Switzerland during the season with HC Ambrì-Piotta.
Formenton’s NHL rights will remain with the Ottawa Senators until July 1, 2027, as he received a qualifying offer following the 2021-22 NHL season, which he did not accept and was then moved to their Reserve roster.
The five players face charges stemming from an incident that took place in a room at London’s Delta London Armories Hotel in June 2018 after the World Juniors celebrated their gold medal at the Hockey Canada Gala.
McLeod was charged with two counts of sexual assault, and Dube, Foote, Formenton and Hart were each charged with one count of sexual assault.
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(Photo: Andy Devlin/Getty Images)
