Four of the five Canadian junior world players charged with sexual assault stemming from a June 2018 incident in London, Ont., have been let go by their NHL teams after failing to receive a qualifying bid before Sunday’s deadline.
Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Dillon Dubé of the Calgary Flames, and Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils are all now unrestricted free agents. All had been on paid leave from their teams since late January, when they were ordered to surrender to London police, where they were charged with assault.
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One night in London: sexual assault allegations and a reckoning for Hockey Canada
A trial date has yet to be set. It was up to each team to decide whether to submit a qualifying bid before Sunday’s 5:00 PM ET deadline to retain those players’ NHL rights, and the Flyers, Flames and Devils all opted out.
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 remaining on leave as the legal process played out over what could ultimately have lasted the entirety of next season .
There are currently no restrictions around their ability to immediately sign with another team, deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed The Athletics on Sunday evening. But it will likely be difficult for any of them to do that, given all the uncertainty surrounding their situation.
The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association had discussions in recent weeks about possibly freezing the players’ status until a trial, according to league sources familiar with those talks, but could not reach an agreement on how to make that work .
It is possible that Hart, Dubé, McLeod and Foote will explore opportunities to continue their careers in Europe, as Alex Formenton, the fifth player alongside them, did in Switzerland for the past two seasons with HC Ambrì-Piotta.
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 2021-2022 NHL season and was subsequently moved to their reserve list.
The five players are charged in connection with a June 2018 incident in a room at the Delta London Armories Hotel following a Hockey Canada Gala where the world junior team was celebrated for its gold medal victory.
Two charges of sexual assault were filed against McLeod, and one each against Dubé, Foote, Formenton and Hart.
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(Photo: Andy Devlin/Getty Images)