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Trying to make sense of why the Oilers signed Alex Formenton

Photo credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

By Jason Gregor

Sep 9, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 9, 2026, 19:16 EDT

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The Edmonton Oilers signed Alex Formenton to a one-year, $850,000 contract Wednesday morning.

Formenton, a 2017 second-round draft pick, is mainly known for being one of the members of the “Canada Five.” Formenton, along with Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod, were teammates on Canada’s World Junior team and were charged with sexual assault from an incident in London, Ont., on June 18, 2018. The case became public when a report came out in May 2022 stating that Hockey Canada had paid a settlement to a woman alleging she was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of these five men.

The London Police had closed a criminal investigation into the incident in February 2019 without laying charges, but the investigation was reopened by the London Police Service in July 2022 after news that Hockey Canada paid an undisclosed settlement to the complainant. They were formally charged in January 2024. The NHL opened an investigation, and the five players were barred from playing. The NHL didn’t reinstate them until the court decided on the case. The five players were acquitted in July 2025, and the NHL reinstated them that December. Hart played last season with Vegas last year, while Dube signed with St. Louis earlier this summer, and today the Oilers signed Formenton.

The signing caused a lot of reaction and conversations. The court case was very public. The text messages between the five men and the woman, known as E.M,, were on public record. Their testimony was read by millions of Canadians and hockey fans outside the country. If we look at the entire situation from June 2018 until the end of the court case, it is clear that many decision-makers had a different moral compass.

Hockey Canada must’ve felt the actions of the five men were inappropriate; otherwise, why would they have reached a financial settlement?

In the eyes of the court, they were found not guilty, but being not guilty doesn’t mean completely innocent.

It was a case that every parent of a teenage boy or girl should have followed and discussed with their kids. Many bad decisions were made, and there are consequences to your decisions, both good and bad.

Formenton had just finished his first full season in the NHL in the spring of 2022. He scored 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games and had just finished his entry-level contract. He was deemed a promising young player, with blazing speed and was eligible to sign a new contract. That contract didn’t come as the NHL opened an investigation into the events from June 2018. Formenton ended up signing in Switzerland. Over the past four years, Formenton played hockey for three years (2023, 2024 and 2026), lost millions of dollars and an NHL contract and had his name known to many Canadians who followed the sexual assault case.

He was acquitted, but not without punishment. He was barred from the NHL for months, lost millions of dollars, and was named publicly. Even though he never went to jail, I don’t believe he got away without consequences. He has been and will be judged for a long time because of that night — as he should be. To play in the NHL is an honour, and the NHL’s statement last September, “The League expects everyone connected with the game to conduct themselves with the highest level of moral integrity. And, in this case, while found not to have been criminal, the conduct of the players involved certainly did not meet that standard,” outlines that there is a moral code that they want players to live up to. Formenton didn’t do that in 2018, and for the past four years he wasn’t allowed the pleasure to compete in the NHL.

Now he has, and we will see how he responds. He said this about gaining a second opportunity with the Oilers.

“Throughout the whole process it has been pretty transparent,” said Formenton. “Everyone is aware of the outcome, and I’m very grateful to be here today. Throughout this process, I have been open and honest about my actions in it and given that, being open and honest, has given me an opportunity today.

“It was a difficult road. It was tough on my family and me personally, but I’m excited to become the player I was and hopefully take a step forward. I will do everything I can on and off the ice to help this organization.

“Over the last eight years, just like any other human going through life lessons and maturing, there are lots of lessons to take from it and growing as a person and growing as a player on and off the ice.”

Why did the Oilers sign Alex Formenton?

Many have asked why the Oilers signed him, so I asked Stan Bowman.

“We were set with our roster until Savoie got hurt, and then around the same time we learned Janmark would be out, as well as Anderson and Regula, the four of them were not going to be ready for camp. We knew that Savvy was going to miss some games, not just missing camp. So, at that point, we’re started to look around at options on the penalty kill in particular, because that was an area that we struggled last year, and Henrique and Savvy were probably our two best killers, so there’s was a concern about how are we going to fill that void internally.

“So, we started to look around at players that were available. I called some team about possible trades to see what the market was like for penalty killers and the free agents that are remaining, there are still guys out there, but really none of them are penalty kill guys. We then went through the exercise to see how we could help the penalty kill and it led to a lot of conversations with Alex and looking into the situation. And based on his profile as a player and his player type skill set, that’s how we really narrowed our focus and looked at a lot of other options, but didn’t feel that any of them were going to fit this role as well as we hope Alex will.”

How much was his past and the court case a factor in your decision?

“It was certainly a factor. Obviously, the biggest thing for us was when he was singled out to be reinstated immediately. I think they’re (Hockey Canada) closer to it than anybody, as far as knowledge of the situation. Our organization has given people second chances in the past and we choose to do it again with Alex.”

The Savoie injury and needing depth on the penalty kill is a legit concern. From 2022-26, the Oilers PK ranks 19th in the NHL at 78.4 per cent, and the crazy part is even with their incredible run on the PK in the 2024 playoffs when it was 94.3 per cent, the Oilers PK still only averages out to 78.3 per cent in the playoffs. Last year it was a dreadful 50 per cent after only being 67.1 per cent in 2025. Outside a great final 69 games in the regular season and the playoff run of 2024, the penalty kill has been an issue for four of the past five seasons.

Will one player make a difference? Unlikely, but the combination of adding multiple players with a good penalty-killing pedigree like Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy last year and Ryan Shea this year should help. Formenton played under D.J. Smith in Ottawa, so Smith knows his PK ability, but Formenton hasn’t been in the NHL for four years.

Can he rediscover it? Maybe, but I think it is clear the organization is concerned about their penalty kill that they signed a player who hasn’t been in the NHL for four years and hope he can help them. Add in his past, and I can understand why many question if it was worth it to sign Formenton.

Formenton has been given a second chance, now we will see if he can make the most of it, both on and off the ice.

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