The Edmonton Oilers have added Alex Formenton on a one-year deal carrying a league-minimum cap hit of $850K, giving the 26-year-old a path back into the NHL after a long absence from the league.
The team did not say whether the contract is one-way or two-way.
Formenton hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2021-22 season. Ottawa held his exclusive rights for several years, but those rights were officially given up earlier this year. Once that happened, he became an unrestricted free agent, which opened the door for this signing with Edmonton.
His return comes after a complicated stretch away from North America. Formenton was one of five NHL players who were defendants in a high-profile sexual assault trial that ended with a verdict in the summer of 2025. He was charged with one count of sexual assault and, along with the other four players, was found not guilty.
During 2024 and 2025, while waiting for his trial date, Formenton stepped away from professional hockey and worked construction full-time. Aside from that one-year retirement, he stayed in the game and spent three seasons with HC Ambrì-Piotta in the Swiss National League, where he put up 33 goals and 52 points in 88 league games.
Edmonton’s move also fits a pattern that’s been showing up around the league since the trial wrapped. The Vegas Golden Knights signed Carter Hart to a two-year, $2MM AAV contract in October of last year, and Hart served as their No. 1 goalie during a run to the Stanley Cup Final before they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Carolina also brought in one of the other players from that case, though not on an NHL deal. Cal Foote signed an AHL contract in November of last year with the Chicago Wolves, whose hockey operations are controlled by the Hurricanes. Foote later agreed to a deal with Färjestad BK in the SHL over the summer, but that arrangement fell apart soon after and he remains a free agent.
The other two acquitted players have already found their next stops. Michael McLeod and Dillon Dubé are under contract for 2026-27, with Dubé signing a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues on July 1 and McLeod landing a three-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the KHL.
For Edmonton, the signing also lines up with how the club has been forced to operate while trying to stay in the contender class. The Oilers have been one of the league’s best teams over the last half-decade, winning back-to-back Clarence S. Campbell Bowls in 2024 and 2025, but that push has thinned out the organization’s depth.
Their last draft pick to claim a full-time NHL job was Dylan Holloway, a 2020 first-rounder, and he’s no longer in Edmonton after an offer sheet from the Blues. With fewer prospects and picks to lean on, the Oilers have had to look elsewhere to patch holes on the roster and in the system.
General manager Stan Bowman knows that playbook well. During his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, he made a habit of mining European leagues for NHL-ready talent and found players such as Artemi Panarin, Erik Gustafsson, Antti Raanta, Jan Rutta, David Kampf, Pius Suter, and Michal Kempny.
He hasn’t matched that same hit rate in Edmonton, but he has kept working that lane with additions like Atro Leppanen, Josh Samanski, and Viljami Marjala. Formenton is a different kind of bet, but the move still fits the kind of depth-building Bowman has long favored for a cap-strapped contender.
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