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Alex Formenton will try to earn his place at the highest level of North American hockey. The Edmonton Oilers have offered him a one-year contract at the NHL minimum salary, namely 850 000 dollars, after three seasons in Switzerland with Ambri-Piotta and a lengthy legal hiatus that kept his name away from the league. From a hockey standpoint, the Canadian winger arrives as a depth option. Personally and in the media, his return is unlike any ordinary signing.
A Short Contract, but Not a Neutral One
The contract format suggests the opposite: one season, a floor-level salary, limited financial risk.
Edmonton did not sign Formenton to redesign its attack. The contract format suggests the opposite: one season, a floor-level salary, limited financial risk. But the significance of the decision extends far beyond the fourth line or competition at camp.
At 26, Formenton has not played in the NHL since the 2021-2022 season with Ottawa. That year, he scored 18 goals and 14 assists in 79 games, enough to be considered a fast forward, useful on the penalty kill and capable of capitalizing in transition. His regular-season career total remains modest, but not empty: 39 points in 109 games with the Senators.
Since then, his path has shifted to Ambri-Piotta. In Switzerland’s National League, he compiled 52 points in 88 games between 2022 and 2026, with a blank 2024-2025 season in the middle of that period. This detour was therefore not simply a sporting exclusion. It also served as a waiting zone while his legal and then professional future remained suspended.
A Case That Follows the Return
Formenton was one of five players from the 2018 Canadian junior team accused in an alleged sexual assault case in London, Ontario. All five were found not guilty at the conclusion of the trial. The NHL subsequently made them eligible to return, while issuing a very firm statement about the conduct expected of people connected to hockey.
That nuance matters. The acquittal closes the criminal aspect, but it does not erase the case’s public sensitivity. Edmonton is therefore signing a player available on the market, but also a name that will inevitably reopen broader discussions: club responsibility, second chances, locker-room management, and the league’s image.
The Oilers know this terrain. They are competing within a narrow window, with the obligation to add depth around their core. In this context, Formenton can bring speed and a profile that coaches appreciate lower in the lineup. The question is whether the on-ice benefit will offset the noise surrounding his return.
Ambri Loses a Player, Edmonton Gains a Question Mark
On the Swiss side, Ambri-Piotta is losing a player who had picked up the thread on the ice. Formenton scored there, played again, and then regained enough rhythm to convince an NHL organization to open the door for him. That is not insignificant after several years away from the North American schedule, where intensity, smaller ice surfaces, and speed of execution are unforgiving for long.
Training camp will quickly show whether this return is primarily symbolic or genuinely operational. Formenton will have to show that he can handle the pace, accept a reduced role, and avoid becoming a permanent distraction. Edmonton, for its part, will have to respond consistently to the questions that will accompany every stage: first practices, first game, first public reaction.
For Formenton, the sporting margin is simple to state and difficult to maintain: he must earn his place like any depth player, while knowing that his recent history will never be treated like that of just any player. Edmonton has opened the door. The rest will be decided between the ice, the locker room, and an external spotlight that will not disappear after the first stride.