Formenton Unsigned as Deadline Passes

Dec 1, 2022 - 10:28 PM

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With today’s 5pm deadline having come and gone without a signed contract, or a trade, Alex Formenton will not play in the NHL this season. As a Group 2 Free Agent, Formenton needed to have signed a deal by this time to be eligible to play. As he is an RFA, Ottawa does retain the NHL contract rights for Formenton. He is able to sign overseas.

There have been no indications that there have been any serious attempts between the two sides to get a deal done.

His contract rights have been shopped around, with the ask reportedly being a 2nd round pick per Frank Seravalli:

That “too much risk”, of course, is the unknown surrounding Formenton and the Hockey Canada 2018 World Junior Team sexual assault scandal. While we do not know the names of any players involved in the (alleged) incident yet, Formenton remains the only player on that team that has not made any kind of statement at all - every other player has spoken either themselves or through a representative. Seravalli had this to say in his article earlier in the day about how other teams are viewing this situation:

A straw poll of NHL general managers conducted by Daily Faceoff on Wednesday revealed that it is likely a bit of a long shot given the circumstances surrounding the player. All 31 other teams watched as the Boston Bruins were vilified in the court of public opinion for signing Mitchell Miller earlier this month, to the point where they were forced to walk back the deal.

On that issue, we have nothing we can really do at this point but wait. No matter the outcome of the investigation, we will not see Alex Formenton in a Senators jersey this season.