Preseason hockey is in full swing, and the NHL’s 2025–26 season will begin on Oct. 7. But some fans are looking instead to Oct. 15, the first day NHL teams can officially register contracts for the players acquitted in this summer’s high-profile sexual assault trial.
In late July, five members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship roster were acquitted in a London, Ont. courtroom following a prolonged and highly publicized trial. The defendant, known only as “E.M.”, accused the players of sexual assault in a hotel room after a gala celebrating the team’s gold medal that year.
After Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, and Cal Foote were found not guilty, the professional future of the “Hockey Canada 5” was unclear. The league quickly issued a statement that the players were still deemed ineligible, while the NHLPA pushed back on the NHL’s response, advocating for the players’ return to work. Ultimately, the NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement in September that allowed all five players acquitted to sign NHL contracts in October and return to the ice on Dec 1.
No team has officially announced the intention to offer contracts to any of these players (and some have explicitly said they will not re-sign acquitted players who were on their rosters right before the trial). But the rumor mill is churning over McLeod.
Last week, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and WRAL reported Carolina had interest in 27-year-old McLeod. McLeod was a first-round pick for the Devils in 2016, and played six seasons as a winger with New Jersey before being granted an indefinite leave of absence in January 2024. (The Devils told The Hockey News McLeod would not be returning to the organization.)
The Hurricanes have not confirmed these reports.
Ashlie Clayton, a four-year season-ticket holder, tells Front Office Sports she was rattled after seeing the Pagnotta report, sent along by her sister, who is also a season-ticket holder. They didn’t take the news as gospel, but Clayton says “even just the thought of it … we’re both like, we’re done with the Canes if that happens.”
On Sept. 18, Clayton posted a screenshot on X of an email she and her husband drafted and sent to their ticketing representative:
“We are writing as loyal season ticket members to make one point absolutely clear: if this team signs Michael McLeod, we will not renew our season tickets. Like any Caniac, we want the Cup—but not at the expense of the morals, principles, and reputation of this franchise. Signing him would send an irreversible message—that women’s safety, girlhood, and dignity do not matter to the Front Office, coaching staff, or players who would share the ice with him.”
“I understood that it was a rumor, but I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Clayton tells FOS.
She shared an update on X the next day, explaining the rep called her husband and said he’d pass it up the chain but had no further information about what was going on in the front office. In her post, Clayton added, “Poor guy’s just doing his job, but he admitted his entire Friday will be spent calling upset STMs [season ticket members].”
Four-year season-ticket holder Meg tells FOS she also emailed her representative and the general sales email, and left a voice message with the organization about her concern about the rumors. Meg, who declined to provide her last name, says she intends to cancel her season tickets and not renew them in the future if McLeod or any of the other players acquitted in the case join the roster.
“I personally cannot support or interact with the organization if they sign the players and will not purchase any tickets, merch, or make any merch for myself,” says Greensboro, N.C.-based Meg, who also knits her own Hurricanes-themed sweaters.
FOS spoke to a season-ticketing representative for Carolina, who said he hadn’t personally fielded any calls regarding McLeod, but was aware of pushback from fans online.
Meg tells FOS she also signed and shared a Change.org petition, Urge Carolina Hurricanes to Reject Acquitted Team Canada Players. The petition was started by a Toronto-based woman who identifies as a “survivor of sexual assault and abuse, and a dedicated fan of the Carolina Hurricanes.” It has more than 1,200 signatures as of this writing, including comments from survivors of sexual assault and fans of other teams writing in solidarity.
The petition author also issued an open letter to the Hurricanes, but tells FOS she hasn’t had any communication with the organization following the petition or the letter. “If the signing goes through, it’s going to tear me apart,” she says.
Now a free agent, McLeod was the only member of the five defendants who faced two charges: sexual assault and being a party to the offense of sexual assault. Prior to joining the 2018 World Juniors team, McLeod was on the Mississauga Steelheads team currently at the center of a sexual assault investigation by Peel Regional Police into a 2014 incident involving eight OHL players. (Amid the ongoing probe, neither McLeod, who was 16 at the time, nor any other players have been named in the suit.)
On Monday, The Athletic reported that Carolina also may be among the suitors for Hart, who is an experienced goaltender in a tight goalie market. Hart, also 27, spent six seasons with the Flyers after being selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft. Flyers GM Danny Briere said last week Hart will not be returning to Philadelphia.
The Hurricanes did not respond to FOS’s request for a comment, and the NHL and NHLPA declined.
“To sign any of the players associated with the trial, acquitted or not,” says Meg, “feels like a slap to the face and is something that goes against everything [the Hurricanes] have created.”
