Alex Formenton is back in the NHL conversation, and the Edmonton Oilers are giving him a chance to make it stick.
The 26-year-old winger met with the media on Wednesday after signing a one-year deal with Edmonton worth an $850,000 average annual value, his first NHL contract since his final season with the Ottawa Senators in 2021-22. Formenton said the time away has not changed his belief that he can handle the jump right away.
“It’s a different pace, I’ve had a good summer of training and skating and I’m ready to take that next step.”
Formenton spent three of the past four seasons with HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland, where he put up 33 goals and 52 points in 88 games. Last season, he finished with 13 goals and 23 points in 42 games.
The signing also brought the expected questions about the reaction around him. Asked about people who do not support the Oilers’ decision, Formenton responded:
"Throughout this whole process I’ve been open and honest about my actions and that has granted me an opportunity today."
He was one of five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior team charged with sexual assault and was acquitted at trial. An independent Hockey Canada appeal board later ruled that all five players had breached the organization’s code of conduct, though Formenton was the only one given immediate reinstatement to Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs.
From Edmonton’s side, the appeal is straightforward: speed, work rate and penalty killing. Formenton’s strongest NHL season came in Ottawa under current Oilers associate coach D.J.
Smith. In 2021-22, he scored 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games, with five of those goals coming while shorthanded.
He also logged 150:27 on the penalty kill, which ranked second among Senators forwards.
That profile fits a team that enters camp with injuries to Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark. Formenton is not being asked to carry the offence. His route to a regular job will come through skating, forechecking and penalty killing, and Edmonton is betting that his speed can still translate after several seasons away from the NHL.
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For Ottawa, the appeal was never just about another scorer. Tolvanen could have fit alongside the teams more creative forwards while also bringing value on the penalty kill, which is the kind of two-way utility contenders tend to covet. Instead, the Senators are left to weigh whether they have enough of that mix already, or whether the spot Tolvanen filled in New York is exactly the sort of opening they still need to address. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Face Two Huge Decisions After Brady Tkachuks Exit
With Brady Tkachuk now gone, Ottawas front office is working through a pair of franchise-shaping issues at once, and both are tied to the clubs next chapter. One is the contract status of Drake Batherson, an important piece who remains in negotiations with the Senators, with the new NHL CBA deadline adding another layer to how long a deal can be.
The other centers on the dressing room leadership void left behind by Tkachuks move to Florida. Tim Stutzle and Thomas Chabot are among the top candidates to wear the captains C, and the decision would say plenty about where the Senators believe their identity is headed. How Ottawa handles both matters will go a long way toward defining the team beyond this season. [Read more 🡒]