{"id":508356,"date":"2026-03-17T20:08:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T20:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/508356\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T20:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T20:08:37","slug":"court-rules-formenton-filed-agent-grievance-too-late-under-nhlpa-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/508356\/","title":{"rendered":"Court rules Formenton filed agent grievance too late under NHLPA rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Ontario Superior Court judge has dismissed former Ottawa Senators<\/a> forward Alex Formenton<\/a>\u2019s attempt to revive claims against his former agent, ruling that an arbitrator appointed by the National Hockey League Players\u2019 Association correctly found the dispute was filed too late under the union\u2019s regulations.<\/p>\n

The decision means Formenton cannot pursue claims that agent Wade Arnott and Newport Sports Management mishandled contract negotiations with the Senators in 2022, allegations that formed the basis of a $20.5-million lawsuit he filed in Ontario court last year.<\/p>\n

In a March 6 decision, Justice Paul Schabas ruled that an arbitrator acted within his authority when he concluded in January 2025 that Formenton\u2019s claims against agent Arnott and Newport were time-barred because Formenton did not file until June 2024, nearly two years after the events in question.<\/p>\n

The NHLPA\u2019s rules say players have a six-month limitation period to bring grievances against certified player agents. Schabas\u2019s decision effectively leaves that arbitration ruling in place and prevents the claims from being pursued in court.<\/p>\n

Jason Squire, Formenton\u2019s lawyer, declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Formenton asked the court to set aside the January 2025 ruling<\/a>, arguing the arbitrator lacked jurisdiction because his contract with Arnott, a standard player-agent contract required by the NHLPA, had expired in July 2022.<\/p>\n

Schabas rejected that argument, writing that the arbitration system established under the NHLPA\u2019s regulations remains the \u201csole and exclusive method\u201d for resolving disputes between players and certified agents.<\/p>\n

Even though the contract between Formenton and Arnott had expired, the judge concluded the dispute still arose from the agent\u2019s representation of the player within the NHL labour system.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an eligible player, Formenton is subject to the NHLPA rules, including the dispute resolution provisions in the regulations,\u201d Schabas wrote, adding that complaints between players and agents must be resolved through arbitration rather than the courts.<\/p>\n

The judge also rejected Formenton\u2019s argument that the six-month limitation period was invalid or unfair, finding the rule was clearly set out in the NHLPA regulations and properly incorporated into the standard player-agent contract. Schabas said the arbitrator had considered and reasonably rejected Formenton\u2019s request to excuse the delay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe arbitrator did not make a decision that was outside his jurisdiction,\u201d Schabas wrote.<\/p>\n

Because the arbitration ruling stands, Schabas also dismissed a parallel lawsuit Formenton filed in Ontario Superior Court seeking similar relief against Arnott and Newport. The judge ordered Formenton to pay $25,000 in legal costs to the agent and agency.<\/p>\n

The decision stems from a dispute over the end of Formenton\u2019s time in the NHL. Formenton, now playing professionally in Europe, alleges Arnott negligently failed to advise him to accept a qualifying offer from the Senators in July 2022, which would have preserved his NHL contract rights. The offer expired on July 22, 2022, leaving Formenton without a deal.<\/p>\n

The contract standoff unfolded during a period when several members of Canada\u2019s 2018 world junior team, including Formenton, were under investigation in connection with an alleged sexual assault in London, Ont. Formenton was among five players charged in early 2024 but was acquitted in 2025 following a criminal trial.<\/p>\n

In October 2024, Formenton filed a $20.5-million lawsuit against Arnott and Newport Sports in Ontario court<\/a> alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence. He claimed the agent\u2019s advice and handling of negotiations cost him his NHL career and millions in earnings.<\/p>\n

Arnott and Newport have denied the allegations.<\/p>\n

Before the civil case could proceed, however, the parties argued over whether the dispute had to be heard through the NHLPA\u2019s arbitration process and whether the claim was filed within the six-month deadline imposed by the union\u2019s agent regulations.<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Ontario Superior Court judge has dismissed former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton\u2019s attempt to revive claims against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508357,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5104],"tags":[45733,4759,5,4,72,25,33540,5157,73],"class_list":{"0":"post-508356","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ottawa-senators","8":"tag-alex-formenton-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8480029","9":"tag-apple-news","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-ottawa","13":"tag-ottawa-senators","14":"tag-ottawa-senators-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-9","15":"tag-ottawasenators","16":"tag-senators"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116246328828192430","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508356"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508356\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}