Bettman would be ‘surprised’ if Canada WJC players return to NHL this season

TORONTO — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he does not believe the four NHL players who reportedly are facing charges in an alleged sexual assault that took place while they were representing the team that played for Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship will return to their NHL teams this season.

“They’re away from their teams now and they’re all [restricted] free agents [after this season],” Commissioner Bettman said during his press briefing at 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend. “As a personal matter, if I were them, I’d be focusing on defending themselves assuming the charges come down. I would be surprised if they’re playing while this is pending.”

Four NHL players — New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart — each took a leave of absence from their teams last week. Their lawyers acknowledged publicly their clients are facing charges in the alleged incident. They all have denied any wrongdoing.

Commissioner Bettman confirmed the players still are being paid.

Alex Formenton, whose NHL playing rights belong to the Ottawa Senators, is on a leave of absence from his team in Switzerland, HC Ambri-Piotta, and has been charged, according to his attorneys.

Formenton hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2021-22 season.

The London Police Service announced it will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, “to provide an update related to a sexual assault allegation involving members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team.”

“While there are reports of indictments, we have not received official confirmation from the London authorities that five players have been or will be indicted, although it appears from reports that they will be,” Commissioner Bettman said. “As such, and if charges are pending, it would be inappropriate to provide further comment on the matter. Finally, as I think everyone knows, all of the NHL players who appear to be subject of indictment are no longer with their teams. So at this stage the most responsible and prudent thing for us to do is await the conclusion of the judicial proceedings, at which point we will respond as appropriate at the time.”

According to The Globe and Mail, the incident occurred June 19, 2018, after a Hockey Canada Foundation event in London that honored the gold-medal winning team.

Commissioner Bettman said the NHL first learned about the alleged incident May 26, 2022, which was after Hockey Canada and the London Police Service finished initial investigations that were inconclusive.

The League conducted its own investigation concurrently with reopened investigations by the London Police Service and Hockey Canada. Commissioner Bettman said the NHL investigation took 12 months to complete.

“Our investigators reviewed volumes of information and conducted interviews of all players on the 2018 team as well as other relevant individuals who were willing to participate in an investigation,” Commissioner Bettman said. “We had concluded the investigatory portion of our process to the extent we could, and we were working with the NHL Players’ Association to analyze the information we had, create a process to move forward and then determine what was an appropriate response when the news of the impending charges broke last week. We had heard similar rumors before about the possibility of charges, none of which had come to fruition. And in this instance we did not have advance notice from the London authorities.”

Commissioner Bettman would not comment on if the NHL investigation yielded a conclusion into wrongdoing on behalf of the players.

The NHL will not release any information from its investigation while the charges are pending, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.

“There is a serious judicial process that looks like it’s unfolding and we didn’t, while we were doing our investigation, want to interfere with what the London Police Service was doing and we’re not going to do anything to interfere or influence the judicial proceedings,” Commissioner Bettman said. “We’re all going to have to see how that plays out and we will then be in a position to respond appropriately, which we will do.”