Category: Sports News

"I'm very excited to be an Oiler and look forward to trying to make the most of this opportunity," said Alex Formenton as he spoke to the press on his first day with the team. After thanking the Katz family, Stan Bowman, and Jeff Jackson, along with the coaching staff, Formenton was as ready as he could be for a very curious Edmonton-based media on Thursday.

He didn't give direct answers to some fairly direct questions, but he talked about the process that led him to Edmonton and emphasized that he'll do his best to show he has no intention of wasting this chance he's been given. 

Edmonton Oilers Sign Alex Formenton To One-Year ContractAlex Formenton is making his return to the NHL after spending the past three seasons in Switzerland, joining the Edmonton Oilers on a one-year contract.

The news of his signing -- a one-year, one-way deal worth $850K -- dropped just before today's on-ice session, so media scurried to the Downtown Community Arena to catch a glimpse of Formenton on the ice. A good dozen or so gathered to ask him questions after the session (an unusually long one) was over. 

Upon first glance, Formenton looks fast. That was always his talent: being speedy. Before he was forced to leave the league, that's where most analysts believed he'd be able to carve out a solid NHL career. A few years later, whether that speed can translate into success at the NHL level remains to be seen.

Formenton has been out of the league for some time now. Following a very public trial in which he and other members of the 2018 Hockey Canada team were charged with sexual assault, it wasn't clear he'd ever get back to the NHL.  He played the past three seasons playing in Switzerland with HC Ambri-Piotta.

As much as the Oilers might take some heat from fans for their decision to sign a forward who was acquitted of sexual assault charges, there will be some scrutiny over the fact Formenton wasn't necessarily a difference-maker overseas. 

What makes the Oilers feel like he can get his game back? 

"I think being away from the NHL for the past four seasons, I've been eager to get back, working hard to become the player I was and slash, taking a step forward. I'm going to do everything I can on and off the ice, in whatever role that I need to to help this organization."

Penalty killing and a depth forward role seem to be the most logical assigments early. He was skating with Trent Frederic and Mathieu Joseph at captains skates.

"I'm very excited to be an Oiler & look forward to trying to make the most out of this opportunity."

Alex Formenton on signing a one-year contract with the #Oilers earlier today. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilerspic.twitter.com/F1TYozyXtL

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 9, 2026

Clearly, the Oilers think there's something there. They could have signed any number of UFAs still out there on the market. Many might have been more obvious choices and come with less baggage. Management knew about the potential backlash.

According to TSN's Ryan Rishaug, Stan Bowman described the process behind signing Formenton. He noted that Hockey Canada's recent support for reinstatement was a factor. 

“I think that played a big role for us in our decision-making. They were certainly the closest to this; they had the most information, so for them to single Alex out as the one deserving of reinstatement immediately, we did feel like that played a large role.”

They spoke with Formenton about it. The team, the coach, and management all came to mututal decision: this was a decision they were comfortable making, hoping the potential benefits would outweigh the risk. 

“I’ve had a chance to have multiple conversations with Alex and go over lots of things…. We’ve reached the decision we think this is the right move to bring Alex in and help our group.”

Bowman added that Formenton is very determined to make a positive impact on and off the ice. "I know he has a heartfelt desire to make a good impression and we certainly hope that's the case."

As for why the Oilers did this from an on-ice perspective: "Yeah it really this kicked into gear when Matt Savoie sustained his injury and it became obvious that he was not going to be ready to start our season. You know, looking at our PK as an area that we think has to improve, Matt was one of the bright spots last year, but with him being unavailable we felt we needed to look around at our options."  

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

On Tuesday, as Cole Caufield was away from the Montreal Canadiens' informal practice attending the NHL 2026-27 player media tour, Kirby Dach skated alongside Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky in the red-vs.-white scrimmage. Don’t read too much into that line combination. A spot on the circle-of-friendship win celebration may get you a spot on the top line for a scrimmage game, but it doesn’t get you a spot there when Martin St-Louis is calling the shots.

Cole Caufield’s chair on the top line is more than safe; it’s guaranteed, and if someone ever were to unseat him, it wouldn’t be a player who has yet to manage to prove anything at the highest level. Of course, Dach has been hampered by numerous injuries, and while everyone feels for him, it doesn’t get him a fast pass to the front of the most thrilling ride in Habsland.

Could Bolduc’s Contract Be Influenced By Minten’s Extension
Today In Canadiens’ History: The Birthday Of An Often Forgotten Great
Canadiens Prospect Has Strong Game In Ufa Salavat Yulaev Win

While Dach has a certain pedigree, he was drafted third overall in the 2019 draft; after all, he still finished the playoffs on the fourth line on the wing. Furthermore, the Canadiens found a way around signing him to a four-million-dollar qualifying offer by making it a two-way contract, which prompted Dach to file for arbitration; in the end, he signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract.

As things stand, Dach is not on solid ground with the Canadiens, and he won’t start the season ahead of players such as Alex Newhook and Oliver Kapanen in the depth chart; at least, he shouldn’t. While the Albertan was inconsistent in the playoffs, Newhook delivered a fantastic performance, not only putting up 10 points in 19 games but also scoring two of his seven goals in Game 7; he had both series-winning goals. One could argue that the goaltenders weren’t exactly great on those plays, but it doesn’t matter; when the Canadiens needed a goal, Newhook found a way.

Newhook scores SERIES-WINNER in Game 7 for MONTREAL!Alex Newhook bats the puck in from behind the goal line, and the Montréal Canadiens have a 2-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 3rd Period of Game 7 ...

As for Kapanen, who finished the playoffs centering the fourth line after being a healthy scratch at times and playing in only 10 of the 19 playoff games, he was a rookie. It’s not new for a rookie to hit a proverbial wall and lose speed towards the end of a grueling first complete season in North America. That doesn’t erase the fact that he managed to score 22 goals in his rookie season, and while some will be quick to say that it’s easy to score with a magician like Ivan Demidov feeding you the puck, one fact remains: you still need the instinct to get in the right spot and to actually put the puck in, which is much easier said than done.

If Kent Hughes had managed to get a second-line center in a trade this offseason, Kapanen’s spot would be far from guaranteed, but as things stand, you can’t erase history. The line formed by Newhook, Kapanen, and Demidov was doing very well until Newhook was injured, and it deserves another go now that everyone is rested and healthy again. It’s also worth mentioning that Newhook is entering a contract year, and he’ll be eager to prove that he deserves to be added to the Canadiens’ core for a long time. After the playoffs he’s had, he certainly deserves that opportunity.

Could Dach get another look in the top six down the line? Certainly, but he’ll have to earn that look; it won’t just be given to him, or at least it shouldn’t.

---

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.

The Buffalo Sabres have yet to do anything consequential to replace the offense lost from the departures of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram this summer. Other than adding defenseman Olen Zellweger in a trade with Anaheim, Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen seems to be relying on internal improvement from some of the club’s young forwards to make up over 100 points in production the two veterans produced last season. 

Buffalo has once again been connected in rumors to Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, but it may still be possible that they are looking to add a veteran forward to provide some insurance. One potential option became available on Wednesday, when it was announced that the Anaheim Ducks and forward Chris Krieder agreed to mutually terminate the final year of his contract. 

The 35-year-old was part of the dismantling of the NY Rangers by former Sabre Chris Drury and was dealt to the Ducks in June 2025. Kreider posted 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 75 games last season.

Other Sabres Stories

Sabres Emotionally Devastated By Game 7 Overtime Loss

The Ducks were in cap trouble after matching the five-year, $90 million offer sheet to center Leo Carlsson and needed to clear cap space with 40-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier still unsigned. Kreider was placed on waivers on Wednesday, and if he clears, the Ducks will open up $6.5 million in additional cap space. The 35-year-old would then become an unrestricted free agent. 

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, indications are that Kreider desires to return to the east, closer to his family, where he spent the first 13 years of his NHL career, and will not report to a team that claims him if it is not a place he wants to play.   

Adding Kreider would make perfect sense for the Sabres. Even though he is slowing down, the big veteran can still move and is capable of playing in the top-six. Buffalo is a more attractive destination after making the playoffs and winning the Atlantic Division last season, but it is possible that the Boxford, MA native may prefer to finish his career with the Atlantic rival Bruins.  

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo

Longtime Islanders superfan and “sign guy” Patrick Dowd still inspires with his witty and motivational messages — 25 years after he played a pivotal role in post-9/11 healing with his wildly popular “always believe” sign.

“9/11 inspired my sign,” declared Dowd, well known among blue-and-orange faithful for holding his posters up on the glass when the Islanders take the ice.

“Really, it was a model of always having faith through crises in life – whether it’s on the ice or not,” he told The Post about the uplifting sign that has appeared at every major game in the decades since.

The message struck a universal chord during the unforgettable 2001-2002 season, which brought a long-awaited playoff return and much-needed jubilation to anguished fans whose worlds had been shattered by the terror attacks.

The 9/11 devastation sank in for Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns, a Canadian who was heartbroken hearing stories of loss his Garden City neighbors suffered while living on Long Island.

It hit even harder when he and then-head coach Peter Laviolette’s promising team visited Ground Zero and saw the “emotional,” seemingly never-ending photo wall of the many missing people in Lower Manhattan.

“I think we chose to let it galvanize us as a team – and really vibed off that.”

Things started with a rare moment of unity during an exhibition game against their arch-rival Rangers, where the usual bad blood was cooled to the temperature of the ice.

“We all lined up on the blue lines as one – Ranger, Islander, Ranger, Islander,” he said.

“Which doesn’t happen very often, if at all.”

Fans were without a doubt ready to believe in something, said Bill Kain, the Isles vice president of sponsorship that season.

“Everybody had been to a lot of funerals, a lot of services, including myself.”

“It just made it really hard to enjoy life again,” added Kain, a diehard season ticket holder in his personal life.

Hockey finally returned to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in mid-October, when an eagle flew down to the American flag-draped surface before puck drop.

Newly acquired and beloved captain Mike Peca wore an NYPD uniform and an ESU pin as teammates skated out with FDNY and police gear, while famed boxing announcer Michael Buffer called their names.

Long Island native Joan Jett then introduced the NYPD and FDNY’s hockey teams, who unfurled a massive American flag on the ice to thunderous “USA!” chants – just before “Sopranos” star and Jericho’s Jamie Lynn Sigler belted out the national anthem.

“It gave me goose bumps…you could just feel the patriotism,” center Shawn Bates recalled.

“Just the camaraderie between everyone during that tragedy…it was inspiring,” added the Massachusetts born player.

Dowd, 65, remembered a friend at the game saying he used the Islanders to preoccupy his mind while fleeing the Financial District on 9/11, too.

“Even though 9/11 kind of brought you down a notch,” Dowd said, “in another way, it bonded us closer.”

The new-look Islanders, who also onboarded 32-goal scorer Alexei Yashin and quick-stick goalie Chris Osgood, became the hottest thing on ice with only one October loss in an emotional year that coincided with the team’s 30th anniversary.

It was a stark contrast to the franchise’s notorious blunders of the decade prior, which started with getting swept by the Stanley Cup-winning Rangers in the 1994 playoffs – the Isles’ most recent postseason appearance at the time.

They became the NHL’s bottom feeders by 1996 and endured the humiliation of fraudster and criminal new owner John Spano around that time.

“When they were relevant again and the [post-Spano] ownership, the new players, and renewed excitement,” Kain said, “I think that was what brought everybody back to a feeling of, ‘wow, we can have a little fun with this team.’”

The 42–28–8–4 Islanders drew the Maple Leafs in first-round playoff action that reinvigorated the raucous Coliseum, nicknamed “Fort Neverlose” from the palpable energy it gave during the team’s four-straight Stanley Cup dynasty of the early 1980s.

New York was the tri-state’s only team in that postseason and put up an epic seven-game grudge match that Isles nation talks about fondly.

“We laid it on the line every shift, every game, every minute,” Bates said.

“People that lost loved ones who were still coming to the games, we wanted to show some appreciation for their loyalty.”

Cairns earned his iconic Isles moment of punching the lights out of Leafs Shayne Corson at the end of a must-win Game 6 that the Islanders took 5-3.

He skated off the ice holding a finger up in the air to a roaring ovation.

“Our fans were unreal. They were the best.”

“Prior to warm-up, you could hear them cheering from the dressing room,” Eric Cairns said of that electric postseason in Nassau County.

“If you can’t get up for something like that, what can you get up for as an athlete?”

But the showstopper belongs to Bates in a heroic goal fans put up there with the dynasty days.

Deadlocked at 3-3, he drew a penalty shot in Game 4 with two and a half minutes remaining while trailing the series two games to one.

The forward buried an immortalized game-winner against sharp goalie Curtis Joseph – and “kind of almost blacked out” as the fever pitch of fans let loose and nearly shook the ground.

Lifelong fan Jonathan Ansbacher doesn’t remember all the details from 25 years ago, but will never forget, “that penalty shot was the loudest I’ve ever heard the Coliseum.”

Bates agreed.

“The old Coliseum goal horn – that thing seemed like it just kept going and going,” added Kain.

With a late lead to defend, Bates just remembers “it was just so loud – so loud.”

“I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’ It certainly did.”

The Shawn Bates penalty shot turned into a moment as cathartic as Mike Piazza’s tear-jerking homer when the Mets brought baseball back to the Big Apple after Sept. 11, and touched heavy hearts similar to the Yankees’ World Series run.

“It was the highlight of my NHL career.”

Bates’ only regret is that the Islanders couldn’t beat the Leafs in the double-elimination game, bringing the moving season to a close.

Fans like Dowd say the team did its job in bringing joy and excitement back to those who needed it most, regardless of the outcome.

“Everybody just came together as one.”

Former Ottawa Senators winger Alex Formenton is getting another NHL shot.

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Wednesday they’ve signed the 26-year-old winger to a one-year, $850,000 contract.

From a hockey perspective, it's easy to understand Edmonton’s interest.

He's not quite as fast as his new teammate, Connor McDavid, but Formenton is probably just about as fast as anyone else in the game. He also scored 18 goals and 32 points in his last NHL season, and thanks to that speed, five of those goals came shorthanded.

So, at close to the league minimum, without surrendering an asset, the Oilers are adding a player who's blazing-fast and excellent on the penalty kill.

But this isn't your average reclamation project, and the Oilers aren't your average organization when it comes to second chances.

Formenton was one of five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior team charged with sexual assault after a Hockey Canada event in London, Ont., in June 2018. After a long trial, all five were acquitted in July 2025, with the judge explicitly stating that she did not find the evidence and testimony of the complainant to be "either credible or reliable."

The NHL cleared all five players to resume their careers following a period of ineligibility, but Hockey Canada recently upheld their suspension of four of them. Formenton was reinstated immediately last month.

Of the five, only Carter Hart has reclaimed NHL success so far, catching on with the Vegas Golden Knights and back-stopping them to this year’s Stanley Cup Final.

Formenton, on the other hand, returned to play for HC Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland, where he recorded 13 goals and 23 points in 42 games last season. He returned to Europe because his NHL future in Ottawa had already been decided.

At the opening of Senators' training camp last September, GM Steve Staios said he had spoken with Formenton’s agent and that both sides agreed a fresh start elsewhere would be best. It's believed that Staios explored the possibility of trading his rights, but nothing panned out.

The Senators finally removed Formenton from their free-agent list a week after their season ended, relinquishing his rights and making him an unrestricted free agent. 

Formenton last appeared for the Sens in 2021-22. The former second-round pick finished his time here with 39 points in 109 games. His speed made him one of the organization’s most intriguing young players, but more than four years have now passed since he played here.

Edmonton presents a logical hockey fit. Oilers associate coach D.J. Smith was running the Sens' bench during Formenton’s best NHL season and knows firsthand what his speed, forecheck, and penalty-killing can add.

But there will be plenty of dialogue about this signing from a non-hockey perspective. This isn't the first time the Oilers have offered up a second chance that they knew they would probably be criticized for.

The Oilers hired Stan Bowman as general manager in 2024 after he had been ruled ineligible to work in the NHL for nearly three years. An independent investigation found that Bowman and other Chicago Blackhawks executives failed to respond adequately after learning of allegations that video coach Brad Aldrich had sexually assaulted prospect Kyle Beach in 2010. 

This summer, Bowman hired Mike Babcock as Edmonton’s head coach. Babcock’s hiring is more than a second chance because his career has included public accounts of humiliating treatment of former players at more than one NHL stop. That includes a short-lived tenure in Columbus that ended with his resignation before he coached a game.

Before Edmonton hired Babcock, the NHL conducted another review and concluded there was no basis to restrict his employment.

But the court of public opinion is different. In that arena, being cleared is rarely the same as universal public forgiveness.

Despite the green light from the league, no other NHL team opted to sign Formenton. But for the Oilers, this wasn't uncharted territory. They've been in this boat before, and history has probably made them feel like they can weather this kind of storm. 

So they decided, once again, to lean into their reputation as the league’s most prominent destination for second chances.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News

This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the latest THN Ottawa headlines below:

Brady Tkachuk Tribute Will Feel Like Watching The Wedding Video After The Divorce
Senators' 2026 First-Round Draft Pick Gets Shifted To Centre
Senators Unveil New Marketing Brand: 'The Hill We Choose'
Brad To The Bone: Marchand's Cheap Shot At Stützle Lands Like An Endorsement