EDMONTON – A web based petition calling on the Edmonton Oilers to reverse the signing of Alex Formenton had collected greater than 19,000 signatures as of Friday morning.
The petition was began by longtime Oilers superfan Mary Loewen, often known as “Mama Stanley,” who stated this week she would not help the staff whereas Formenton stays on the roster.
The Oilers signed Formenton to a one-year, US$850,000 contract Wednesday. He was certainly one of 5 former Canadian world junior gamers acquitted final yr of sexual assault prices stemming from an encounter with a lady after a 2018 Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont.
“We acknowledge clearly and with out qualification that Alex Formenton was acquitted in court docket in 2025. This petition doesn’t problem that verdict, nor does it declare him responsible,” the petition says.
“A prison trial determines whether or not the Crown proved prison prices past an inexpensive doubt. It doesn’t require followers, survivors, sponsors, or group members to help each employment and roster determination made afterward.”
The Oilers have defended the signing, citing Formenton’s acquittal and reinstatement by the NHL and Hockey Canada, together with what the staff referred to as a “prolonged due diligence course of.”
In an electronic mail to followers, the staff’s ticketing and customer support division stated the group reviewed the authorized proceedings, the NHL and Hockey Canada processes and “the entire data accessible” earlier than making its determination.
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The Oilers stated in addition they spoke straight with Formenton and others near the matter and had been “snug offering Alex with the chance to return to the NHL as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.”
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“Alex is grateful for the chance and, like each Oilers participant, he’s anticipated to uphold the requirements and expectations of our group,” the staff wrote. “The Edmonton Oilers stay dedicated to fostering a respectful, skilled and optimistic setting for our gamers, employees and followers.”
The NHL reinstated Formenton and the 4 different gamers final yr, permitting them to renew taking part in starting Dec. 1, 2025. NHL deputy commissioner Invoice Daly stated this week that Formenton confronted no extra league necessities earlier than signing with Edmonton.
An impartial attraction board dominated final month that every one 5 gamers breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct. Formenton, nevertheless, was the one one eligible for instant reinstatement from suspension from Hockey Canada-sanctioned packages.
The board advisable continued bans for Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod.
Hart signed with the Vegas Golden Knights final season and helped the staff attain the Stanley Cup last, whereas Dube signed with the St. Louis Blues in July.
Formenton, 26, spent three of the earlier 4 seasons taking part in in Switzerland and the opposite out of hockey. The Barrie, Ont., native had 23 objectives and 16 assists in 109 NHL video games with the Ottawa Senators earlier than leaving the league.
“It was a tough highway,” Formenton stated Wednesday. “It was robust on my household and me personally. I’m grateful for the chance to be right here in the present day and I’m trying ahead to creating essentially the most out of it.”
Loewen has supported the Oilers because the staff’s championship years within the Nineteen Eighties and in current seasons grew to become a well-recognized presence at video games dressed as a sequined Stanley Cup.
The petition calls on the Oilers to take “each lawful and contractually accessible step” to reverse the signing. It additionally asks the group to elucidate publicly how the choice was made and undertake survivor-informed requirements for future signings.
The Formenton signing is the Oilers’ second high-profile transfer this low season involving a determine with a controversial current historical past.
Edmonton common supervisor Stan Bowman employed Mike Babcock as head coach in June after the NHL cleared the transfer. Babcock had not coached an NHL sport in seven years and had resigned from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023 earlier than teaching a sport with the staff amid an investigation into stories he invaded gamers’ privateness.
Bowman’s personal hiring in 2024 additionally drew scrutiny. He had resigned as common supervisor of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021 after an impartial investigation discovered the group mishandled allegations {that a} video coach sexually assaulted participant Kyle Seaside. The NHL reinstated Bowman shortly earlier than Edmonton employed him.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Sept. 11, 2026.
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