Insider Reveals Most Shocking Thing About Formenton Signing with the Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Alex Formenton on Wednesday, and the signing drew expected backlash because of his involvement in the trial involving five players from the 2018 Hockey Canada team. Formenton spoke with the media on Wednesday and said it was a “process” to get back to the NHL, but he’s grateful for the opportunity.

One insider isn’t terribly shocked that Formenton is back in the NHL, but he was surprised that Formenton signed with a Canadian team.

---

It wasn’t the fact that Formenton hasn’t been in the NHL for some time that shocked him. Nor was it that the forward hadn’t been all that effective overseas. Elliotte Friedman noted on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast that he didn’t ever think he’d see a day when one of those five players (Formenton was one) would sign with a Canadian team or that a Canadian team would want to sign one of those five players.

He explained:

“Formenton was the first to be reinstated by Hockey Canada, and I heard when that happened there was a chance he was going to be back in the NHL somewhere. I never would have imagined that he would want to play in Canada, and that it would be a Canadian team that signed him. I think that is the thing that shocked me the most is, I just never thought that one of those players would ever play for a Canadian team again.”

Friedman pointed to the reaction when Cal Foote tried to sign in Sweden this year, and the team changed its mind after the backlash. He said again, “…so I think that’s the thing that shocked me the most is I didn’t think I’d ever see a day where one of those players would want to play in Canada, or a Canadian team would say we’re going to sign one of those players.”

The Oilers Didn’t Tell Anyone They Were Doing This

Another shocker: the Oilers didn’t tell Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly they were making the signing. When asked whether the Oilers had to clear the contract with the league, he said no. After the court case was completed, they went through a process to determine what reinstatement would look like for those players if they signed back in the league. That didn’t include needing NHL approval.

We know Carter Hart signed in Vegas, but Daly did admit it was a bit of a surprise to hear about Formenton. That doesn’t mean the league didn’t know before the announcement, but Daly found out at the same time the fans did.

Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: Wild, Jets & Maple Leafs Fantasy Trade