Alex Formenton is back in the National Hockey League.<\/p>\n
The Edmonton Oilers announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed the former Ottawa Senators winger to a one-year contract worth $850,000 US.<\/p>\n
The Senators cut ties with Formenton on May 8 when they filed the paperwork with the league’s Central Registry office, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent.<\/p>\n
League sources told the Ottawa Citizen that the Senators removed the 26-year-old winger from their free agent list.<\/p>\n
The Senators had been trying to deal the rights to Formenton elsewhere after he was among five players on the 2018 Canadian world junior team found not guilty of sexual assault<\/a> in a London, Ont., trial that ended in July 2025.<\/p>\n Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, and Formenton’s Toronto-based agent, Darren Ferris of Quartexx Management, agreed last summer that the best thing for Formenton was to give him a change of scenery.<\/p>\n That will finally happen for Formenton, who hasn’t played in the National Hockey League since the end of the 2021-22 campaign. The Senators tried to trade his rights early last season, but the interest was limited with Staios looking for a late draft pick in return.<\/p>\n Formenton will be reunited with former Senators’ coach D.J. Smith, who is an assistant to Mike Babcock behind the Edmonton bench.<\/p>\n “I just want to say I’m very grateful to the Katz family, Stan Bowman, Jeff Jackson, and Mike Babcock for granting me this opportunity,” Formenton said. “I’m very excited to be an Oiler and look forward to trying to make the most out of this opportunity.<\/p>\n “I’ve been working hard on and off the ice to become the player I was.”<\/p>\n Where has Formenton been playing?<\/p>\n Formenton has spent the past three seasons with HC Ambri-Piotta<\/a> in the Swiss league. He posted 13 goals and 23 points in 42 games this past season.<\/p>\n A speedy winger with good size, Formenton was drafted No. 47 overall by the Senators in 2017. He has posted 23 goals and 39 points in 109 games in his NHL career.<\/p>\n The Senators held his rights because he didn’t sign a qualifying offer as an RFA in July 2022.<\/p>\n “It was a very difficult time, but I’m very grateful and thankful to be here today,” said Formenton. “It was tough on my family and me personally.”<\/p>\n The players acquitted in the case \u2014 including goaltender Carter Hart, along with Dillon Dube, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Formenton \u2014 were eligible to return to the NHL midway through this past season.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n Formenton was the only player with RFA status, while the rest of the players are unrestricted free agents.<\/p>\n “I’m ready to take the next step,” Formenton said.<\/p>\n Hart was the only player from that group who had signed to return to the NHL. He made his return to the league with the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> after being sent to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate on a conditioning stint.<\/p>\n McLeod signed with Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia, while Dube remains a UFA after the Calgary Flames stated publicly they wouldn’t be bringing him back. Foote signed in the AHL.<\/p>\n