Formenton signs with HC Ambri-Piotta, remains ineligible by NHL
Published
Former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton has agreed to a new contract to return to professional hockey with HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland on Saturday.
According to The Athletic, the 25-year-old agreed to a contract that runs through the international break in December and includes an option to extend through the end of the upcoming season.
Formenton is one of five players, along with Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote, that were charged with sexual assault following 2018 incident in London, Ont., at a Hockey Canada event celebrating their World Junior Championship title. All five were acquitted in July after a high-profile trial but hours after the decision, the NHL deemed them ineligible to play in the league.
"We will be reviewing and considering the judge's findings," the NHL said in a statement. "While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the league.”
The Athletic reports that the NHL will continue to discuss this weekend on when the five players will be formally reinstated by the league.
A second-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2017, Formenton last played in the NHL in 2021-22, scoring 18 goals with 32 points in 79 games. As a restricted free agent, he failed to sign a contract with the team before the Dec. 1 deadline in 2022.
In 109 career NHL games, he has 23 goals and 39 points.
Formenton previously played two seasons with HC Ambri-Piotta, scoring 10 goals with 16 points in 24 games in 2023-24.