In announcing the decision in September, the league said this in a statement.

“The events that transpired after the 2018 Hockey Canada Foundation Gala in London, Ontario, prior to these players’ arrival in the NHL, were deeply troubling and unacceptable,” the statement said. “The League expects everyone connected with the game to conduct themselves with the highest level of moral integrity. And, in this case, while found not to have been criminal, the conduct of the players involved certainly did not meet that standard. …

“In relying on both our own investigation, and the conclusions reached by Justice Carroccia in her opinion, and the players’ acquittal, the League has determined that the conduct at issue falls woefully short of the standards and values that the League and its Member Clubs expect and demand.”

Team Canada teammate Brett Howden sent this text message about Dube, which was not admitted as evidence during the trial: “Dude, I’m so happy I left when all that s— went down. Ha, ha. Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl’s a– so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.”

Hart, the starting goaltender of the Golden Knights, was the only one of the five players to play in the NHL last season. Dube and Foote were in the AHL. McLeod was in the KHL, and Formenton was in Switzerland.

The decision to sign Dube was met with some dissent from fans on Blues social media, and even before Dube’s signing, there was a petition circulating urging the team not to sign him. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had more than 6,700 signatures.

Steen was asked what he would tell fans that are disappointed in the organization.

“That we appreciate everyone’s perspective on the decision,” Steen said. “I obviously respect that not everybody’s going to agree with it. We’ve gotten to know Dillon over the course of the last nine months. He’s been a part of the organization down in Springfield since December. Since I’ve been here, the organization has been a second-chance organization. In our opinion, we’re confident in giving him this opportunity.”