Formenton files $20.5 million lawsuit against Newport Sports and agent Wade Arnott

Former Ottawa Senators Forward Alex Formenton, one of five National Hockey League players accused of sexual assault by police in London, Ont., was arrested by player agency Newport Sports Management Inc. and filed a $20.5 million lawsuit against his former manager, Wade Arnott. negligence, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

Formenton, now 25, claims he has suffered lost revenue during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 NHL seasons due to misconduct by Arnott and Newport, as well as future revenue from lost playing time in the NHL.

Formenton asked the court to award him $20 million in compensatory damages and another $500,000 in punitive damages for Newport’s “bad faith and bullying behavior.”

Formenton’s claims have not been tested in court. Neither Newport Sports founder Don Meehan nor Arnott responded to requests for comment. Headquartered in Toronto, Newport is the largest agency in the NHL. Some of its high-profile clients include: Connor Bedard, Erik Karlsson, Brad MarchandBrady and Matthew Tkachuk.

“As his manager, Wade and Newport Sports owed Alex a duty of care,” Formenton’s lawsuit states. “At all material times, they were negligent in the discharge of their duties as Alex’s agent and failed to meet the due standard of care expected of a professional agent. Alex alleges that the services and advice provided by Wade and Newport Sports were negligently, carelessly and incompetently…”

Formenton was the Senators’ second-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft. He was 17 at the time and signed a standard player-manager contract with Newport, with Arnott, Meehan and manager Pat Morris as guarantors.

Formenton then allegedly relied on Newport and Arnott to help him sign an entry-level contract with the Senators, the lawsuit said, adding that the player-manager contract between Formenton and Newport expired July 12, 2022 and was not renewed.

Over the next three seasons, Formenton played mostly with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville, Ontario. He established himself as an NHL regular in Ottawa in 2021-22; He scored 18 goals this season, tying for the league lead with five shorthanded goals.

According to Formenton’s lawsuit, filed Oct. 25 in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto, the Senators presented Formenton with a qualifying offer of $787,500 (U.S.) in July 2022, after his entry-level deal had expired, which Formenton rejected.

In its lawsuit, Formenton alleges that after contacting Arnott in July 2022 and asking for advice on how to proceed, Arnott failed to advise Formenton that he could accept a qualifying offer and begin negotiations for a new, third contract in January 2023 . 2023-24 season.

The lawsuit alleges that Arnott and Newport failed to advise Formenton that the offer could be extended beyond July 15, 2022 if there was an agreement with the Senators, adding that Arnott and Newport did not request that the Senators’ offer be extended.

“From July to December 2022, Wade continued to tell and explain to Alex that he would be offered a new contract. Ottawa Senators“The lawsuit reads, “Wade, even without an accepted offer or extended qualifying offer, Ottawa Senators It was “business as usual” for Alex and he had to rely on Wade and Newport Sports to get a suitable offer.

“Wade’s advice was wrong. Ottawa Senators “He did not offer or accept a new contract to Alex prior to December 1, 2022, and accordingly Alex was ineligible to play in the NHL for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.”

In December 2022, Formenton agreed to a $125,000 contract with professional hockey team Ambri-Piotta in Ambri, Switzerland.

“During Ambri-Piotta contract negotiations, Wade sought a contract clause that would allow Alex to return to play in the NHL if Newport Sports and Alex could negotiate a new NHL contract,” the lawsuit states. “During the contract negotiations with Ambri-Piotta, Wade gave Alex no advice regarding the consequences or possible repercussions of a transfer to a European team and the impact this would have on his continued career in the NHL.”

Formenton took a leave of absence from Ambri-Piotta in January 2024. That same month, he ended his relationship with Arnott and Newport, according to the lawsuit.

Also in January, Formenton, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart, Michael McLeodAnd Cal Foote They were accused of sexual assault. All five players were members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior team and are accused of sexually assaulting a woman, identified in court documents as EM, following a golf and gala event in London in June 2018.

All five players are expected to plead not guilty at trial and have requested that their cases be heard by a judge and jury. An eight-week trial is scheduled to begin on September 8, 2025, but it is possible for the trial to begin as early as April 22, 2025 if all pre-trial matters are addressed.

In a series of court documents filed this spring, Formenton wrote that he lived and worked in the Barrie, Ont., area after some of the defendants asked for permission to leave Canada for education and work before trial. construction industry and training in both the operation and management of heavy equipment.

“I am learning to drive excavators, skid steers and rollers,” he wrote. “It’s difficult to transition into a new line of work because I’ve been focused on hockey my whole life.”