First player from Hockey Canada scandal signs a new deal.

The Hockey Canada trial is over with all 5 of the players, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Michael McLeod, and Cal Foote, who faced charges acquitted by a judge who found them all to be not guilty.

Despite the verdict the players have still not been reinstated by the National Hockey League and are not eligible to play in the NHL as a result of that decision, but it sounds like at least one of them is determined to continue his career in the sport of hockey.

Over the weekend it has been announced that one of the players involved in the scandal, former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton, is the first of the 5 acquitted players to sign a new contract.

According to an official announcement from HC Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss Ice Hockey Association, they have signed Formenton to a short term contract that will run through December of this year. The deal includes an option for Formenton to remain on for the rest of the season, but whether or not the team and/or player choose to exercise that option remains to be seen.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press release from HC Ambri-Piotta.

Formenton has a history with the team having previously played a pair of seasons with the organization prior to the aforementioned trial, competing with Ambri-Piotta during both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Over a combined 46 games he recorded 20 goals and 9 assists for a total of 29 points with that team.

It remains to be seen whether or not any of the other players involved in this scandal will go down a similar path, or whether or not they will fight for reinstatement as the NHLPA has vowed to do on their behalf.

"We all went through the trial, we all watched it very closely, the players were found not guilty," said NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh. "Which means to us that they should be eligible to go back to the NHL and we are working through a process."

Stay tuned for more on this developing story.