Edmonton Oilers sign Alex Formenton to one-year contract

The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Alex Formenton to a one-year contract with an $850,000 cap hit, the team announced on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Formenton returns to the National Hockey League after not playing in the league since the 2021-22 season. Formenton was one of five players from the 2018 Canadian world junior team who faced charges of sexual assault stemming from an incident in London, Ontario. A trial concluded in the summer of 2025, resulting in Formenton and the other four defendants being acquitted. Reports indicate that the presiding judge found the complainant to be unreliable and not credible, stating that the sexual activity that night was consensual and initiated by the complainant. Following his acquittal, Formenton was recently reinstated by Hockey Canada, making him eligible for international play. He was the only one of the five acquitted players to be immediately eligible for reinstatement by the organization. Formenton, who will be 27 years old, last played in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators during the 2021-22 season, where he recorded 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games.