Flyers, Devils and Flames to receive salary cap relief for players facing sexual assault charges

The Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames, the three NHL clubs with players facing sexual assault charges stemming from a 2018 incident in London, Ont., have been informed they will receive salary cap relief, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed on Monday.

Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Dillon Dube have been charged with one count of sexual assault, with McLeod facing an additional charge of sexual assault. Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube were granted leaves of absence from their respective NHL clubs last month to handle their legal proceedings. Formenton had been playing overseas for HC Ambrì-Piotta, where he was granted a leave to return to Canada to face his legal issues.

Hart is in the final year of a three-year contract with the Flyers that pays him $3.979 million this season. According to CapFriendly, Hart’s contract has $1,512,849 remaining for the rest of the regular season.

Dube is in the final year of a three-year contract with the Flames that pays him $2.3 million per season. The Flames have $874,479 remaining on Dube’s contract for the rest of this season according to CapFriendly.

The Devils have both Foote and McLeod under contract for this season. McLeod’s contract pays him $1.4 million this season and his deal has $532,292 remaining this season. Foote’s deal is worth $800,000 and has $304,167 remaining for the rest of the 2023-24 season.

None of the players charged by the London Police Department has an NHL contract that runs beyond this current season.

“Well, they’re away from their teams now, and they’re all (pending) free agents,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the NHL All-Star Game this weekend. “As a personal matter, if I were them, I would be focusing on defending themselves, assuming the charges come down. And I would be surprised if they’re playing while this is pending.”

(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)

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