Alex Formenton will not be eligible to play in the National Hockey League this season after he and the Ottawa Senators could not come to a contract agreement before the 5 p.m. Eastern Time deadline on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:

• As per the rules of the current collective bargaining agreement, all restricted free agents must sign a contract with an NHL club before 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 1. If they do not sign a contract, they are deemed ineligible to play in an NHL game for the remainder of the season.
• Formenton becomes the first restricted free agent to miss an entire NHL season since Jesse Puljujarvi and Julius Honka failed to come to terms with their respective clubs before the Dec. 1, 2019 deadline. Both players missed the entire 2019-20 NHL season.
• The Senators will retain Formenton’s contractual rights and he’s eligible to return for the 2023-24 NHL season — provided he signs a new contract.

Backstory

The negotiations between Formenton and the Senators were enveloped in a cone of silence for several months, with neither side revealing any details about the state of the situation. In his most recent comment on the negotiations with Formenton on Nov. 7, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said, “I think both parties know we have a Dec. 1st timeline. And from there, there is nothing else to report.”

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Earlier this week, Formenton’s agent, Wade Arnott, did not respond to an email request from The Athletic to provide an update on his client’s negotiations.

The 23-year-old Formenton scored 18 goals in 79 games for Ottawa in 2021-22, his first full season in the NHL. Formenton also led all NHL players with five shorthanded goals last season.

Hockey Canada investigations

Formenton was a member of Team Canada’s gold medal-winning club at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. There are currently multiple investigations into members of that team after a woman alleged she was sexually assaulted by eight players in a London, Ontario, hotel room following a Hockey Canada Foundation event in June of 2018.

The London Police department reopened its investigation into the incident in July. Meanwhile, the NHL launched its own probe into the matter in May, writing in a statement, “We will endeavor to determine the underlying facts and, to the extent this may involve players who are now in the NHL, we will determine what action, if any, would be appropriate.”

In September, Pierre LeBrun had an extended sit-down interview with Dorion ahead of the regular season. When LeBrun asked Dorion if the investigations had any bearing on Formenton still being unsigned.

“With all due respect, I think they’re totally two different things,” Dorion said. “One’s a contract issue and the other is a Hockey Canada issue that I can’t comment on until the NHL investigation is over.”

What’s next for Formenton

Formenton is free to sign a professional contract outside of the NHL, with Europe being a potential option for him to play this season. Puljujarvi and Honka spent the 2019-20 season playing in the Finnish Elite League while they were ineligible to suit up in the NHL.

(Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today)