The five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team who were acquitted Thursday of sexual assault are ineligible to play in the NHL as it reviews the judge’s findings, the league said.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were found not guilty of all charges after a high-profile trial centred on an alleged group sexual encounter in London, Ont., in 2018.
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“The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptable,” the NHL said in a statement to Global News.
“We will be reviewing and considering the judge’s findings. While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the League.”
McLeod, Hart, Dubé and Foote were active NHL players at the time of their 2024 arrests, which came days after all four players were granted leave from their clubs.
Formenton, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, has not played in the NHL since 2022.
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