The Edmonton Oilers have made another controversial acquisition.
On Wednesday, the team announced it had signed Alex Formenton to a one-year contract worth $850,000.
Formenton is one of five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior hockey team who were charged with sexual assault that year, resulting in a lengthy high-profile trial last year.
All five were acquitted but remained suspended by Hockey Canada for breaching its code of conduct. Formenton was reinstated in August.
The first thing he told reporters outside of a captain’s skate in Edmonton Wednesday morning was that he had extensive conversations with Oilers management before his signing.
“I’m very grateful to the Katz family and (general manager) Stan Bowman, (CEO and president of hockey operations) Jeff Jackson, and (head coach) Mike Babcock for granting me this opportunity. I’m very excited to be an Oiler and look forward to trying to make the most of this opportunity.”
Formenton has not played in the NHL since the 2021-22 season.
He called the past eight years a difficult road for him and his family.
“I think there’s lots of lessons to take from it moving forward and (I’m) looking forward to growing as a person and growing as a player on and off the ice,” Formenton said.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound forward made his NHL debut in 2017-2018 for the Ottawa Senators, who drafted the left-shot winger in the second round of the 2017 draft.
Formenton has registered 23 goals and 16 assists for 39 points through his 109 career games. He has spent three seasons over the past four years with HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland, recording 33 goals and 19 assists for 52 points over 88 games.
Captain Connor McDavid’s only comment on Wednesday about Formenton’s signing was, “He’s gone through a process. He’s been transparent through the process and that process has led him here today. It’s a great opportunity for him.”
The Edmonton Oilers stirred up some controversy earlier this year while courting now-head coach Mike Babcock, who was at the time under investigation by the National Hockey League (NHL) regarding allegations of infringing players’ privacy during his brief tenure as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Babcock was cleared by the NHL and hired by the Oilers in June.
‘Miss the game’: McDavid
Reflecting on his long summer after Edmonton’s first-round playoff elimination in April to Anaheim, McDavid said it was “enough time to miss the game.”
“That’s a good thing.... That brings energy.”
Overall, McDavid said he felt good about how the team was looking heading into camp under a new coach.
“We want a coach that matches our intensity and our energy and we feel that Babs has that.”
He didn’t speculate long on the Oilers’ 2025-26 performance, spending just a few seconds to search for a word other than “complacency.”
“You go to a cup final two years in a row, you feel pretty good about your group and you feel pretty good that when it matters, you’re going to be able to turn it on. Who knows? Without injuries, maybe we could. But we’ll never know.”
