After his inclusion in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial for the past two years, the Ottawa Senators are looking to move on from RFA forward Alex Formenton. During today’s media availability, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch offered a note from Senators General Manager Steve Staios, saying that “both sides agree that it would be best for a fresh start.”
As PuckPedia notes, since Formenton is a qualified RFA, Ottawa can only trade him or wait for him to become eligible for unrestricted free agency. There’s no mechanism for a team to release a qualified RFA, unless the NHL is willing to make an exception for this circumstance. The other four players involved in the trial were not qualified by their respective clubs, making them all UFAs.
Given the high-profile nature of the case, it’s difficult to say whether or not another team would have interest in acquiring Formenton via trade. Carter Hart, who was also involved in the trial, has reportedly garnered interest from several teams since the NHL announced that they’d be free to sign new contracts on October 15th.
Still, even outside of that variable, it’s been several years since Formenton has played professionally in North America. His last season with the Senators was 2021-22, during which he recorded 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games, finishing with a -13 rating.
Since then, he’s been playing with the NL’s HC Ambrì-Piotta, scoring 20 goals and nine assists in 48 games. Formenton appears to have kept his knack for putting pucks in the net, but Ottawa shouldn’t have any expectation of receiving a quality return for their former second-round pick.