Team Canada Junior Player Alex Formenton Sues Agent for $20.5 Million While Awaiting Trial for Assault

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Maverick Mitchell
November 1, 2024 (11:57)

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In the midst of the 2018 Team Canada World Junior sexual assault scandal involving 5 former NHL players, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton, one of them has decided to sue his agent for a large sum of money.

25-year-old former Ottawa Senators forward, Alex Formenton is one of the five players mentioned above that have been charged by London Police officers with sexual assault during the 2018 World Junior Championship. Now, while they all await trial for their alleged actions, Formenton has filed a massive lawsuit against his agent and former agency, Newport Sports, demanding north of $20 million for negligence, bad faith and other suspected misconducts.

Initially reported by Rick Westhead, according to the details of the lawsuit, he is going after some of the biggest names is hockey agency's, as Newport Sports, who manage and represent the likes of NHL stars, Matthew Tkachuk, Brand Marchand and Connor Bedard.

"As his agent, Wade and Newport Sports owed Alex a duty of care," Formenton's lawsuit reads. "At all material times, they were negligent in exercising their duties as agent to Alex and did not meet the required standard of care expected of a professional agent. Alex pleads that the services and counsel provided by Wade and Newport Sports were done negligently, carelessly and unskillfully"

It seems like a strange time for an alleged assaulter to start a separate trial, putting himself in the spotlight even more. The suing of his agents do not have to do with how they handled anything within the sexual assault lawsuit, but refers to how they handled his contract negotiations back in 2022 with the Ottawa Senators.

"For the remainder of July to December 2022, Wade continued to represent and hold out to Alex that he would yet be offered a new contract by the Ottawa Senators,» the lawsuit reads. «Wade advised that even without an accepted offer or extended qualifying offer his dealings with the Ottawa Senators on behalf of Alex was business as usual' and that Alex should rely on Wade and Newport Sports to secure a favorable offer.

«Wade's advice was wrong. The Ottawa Senators did not propose or agree to a new contract with Alex prior to December 1, 2022, and accordingly, Alex was ineligible to play in the NHL for the remainder of the 2022-23 season."

It may be bad timing, but for someone in his financial situation, it makes a lot of sense. The other 4 players from that 2018 World Juniors team have been able to continue their hockey careers, but as Formenton, he had to retire and take a normal 9-5 job working construction.