Ex-NHL player is suing a agent and an agency for $20.5 million dollars

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Austin Sabourin
November 1, 2024 (10:09 PM)

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Former NHL player Alex Formenton is allegedly suing a agent and an agency for $20.5 million dollars.

Alex Formenton, a former NHL player once with the Ottawa Senators, is heading to court with a lawsuit against Newport Sports Management Inc. and his former agent, Wade Arnott. In this $20.5 million suit, Formenton claims that negligence and mismanagement by Arnott and Newport caused him to lose significant income from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 NHL seasons, plus potential future earnings.

Formenton, who recently announced he was leaving hockey for a construction career, alleges that Arnott's poor advice and failure to act cost him his chance to stay in the NHL.

The former player says Arnott misled him about contract options with the Senators, giving him hope that his NHL career would continue. However, by December 2022, when he didn't have a new contract with the Senators, Formenton was ineligible to play in the NHL that season. Instead, he signed with Ambri-Piotta, a team in Switzerland, on a $125,000 contract.

According to Formenton, Arnott and Newport failed to inform him of the potential risks of moving to a European team. He took a leave from Ambri-Piotta in January 2024, ending his relationship with Arnott and Newport soon after.

In addition to this lawsuit, Formenton is one of five former NHL players facing charges related to an alleged assault from 2018. He, along with Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Michael McLeod, is accused in connection with an incident following a Hockey Canada event in Ontario, where players from the World Junior Championship team were honored. Since the allegations came to light, the NHL has distanced itself from all involved players.

Formenton's lawsuit demands $20 million in damages plus $500,000 in punitive damages, citing Newport's «bad faith» and «high-handed conduct.» Newport and Arnott have not yet responded to the lawsuit.