CHICAGO – Cal Foote has signed an American Hockey League contract with the Chicago Wolves, becoming the fourth of five players acquitted of sexual assault in the high-profile trial of members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team to continue their careers.
The team announced the deal with the 27-year-old defenseman early on Monday. Goaltender Carter Hart signed with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights in mid-October, shortly after the window opened for players to be eligible for new contracts.
Forward Michael McLeod, who was also found not guilty of being a party to a crime of sexual assault, signed a three-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the KHL in October. Originally signing with Barys Astana in Kazakhstan in the Russia-based league, McLeod also played for the club last season.
Alex Formenton is playing for HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss Hockey League through 2022 after the Ottawa Senators opted not to re-sign him.
Dillon Dube spent the 2024-25 season in Belarus with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, but the 27-year-old winger has not played this season.
All players except Formenton were in the NHL when they were charged in January 2024 in connection with an incident in London, Ontario in 2018. Foote and McLeod were with New Jersey, Hart with Philadelphia and Dube with Calgary.
Those teams did not extend qualifying offers to players who became free agents that summer. The league announced in September that players would be eligible to sign on October 15 and play on December 1. Hart could make his Vegas debut on Tuesday.
The NHL began its own investigation in 2022 when the allegations surfaced.
Foote, 26, has five goals and 15 assists in 145 career NHL games after being selected 14th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 draft.
– With files from Sportsnet staff
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