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Edmonton Oilers sign one of the 'Hockey Canada 5'

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Sep 9 2026, 3:21 pm
Edmonton Oilers sign one of the 'Hockey Canada 5'
Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports

The Edmonton Oilers have turned plenty of heads with a very unexpected free-agent signing ahead of the 2026-27 season.

It was rumoured that the Oilers may look at bringing in another forward after it was announced that both Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark would be unavailable for training camp. Given that both kill penalties, adding a PKer seemed to make plenty of sense. Still, few, if any, expected that player to be Alex Formenton.

The Oilers announced on Wednesday morning that they have signed Formenton to a one-year, $850,000 deal. The 26-year-old has spent the past three seasons playing in Switzerland.

Formenton was one of five members from Canada’s 2018 World Junior team to be charged with sexual assault. All five pleaded not guilty and were acquitted by a judge in July of 2025.

Hockey Canada recently ruled that four of those players (Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Michael McLeod) breached their code of conduct and that their suspensions from representing their home country would remain in place. Formenton’s suspension, however, was lifted.

Prior to heading to Switzerland, Formenton, a second-round pick in 2017, logged 109 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators. Most of his success came in the 2021-22 campaign, where he recorded 18 goals and 32 points in 79 outings.

This marks the second highly controversial move of the offseason for the Oilers, who earlier in the summer made the decision to bring in Mike Babcock as their head coach. While the public frustration and outside noise surrounding that move seemed to be dwindling, the decision to sign Formenton has once again put the team under a microscope.

How the Oilers handle the outside noise remains to be seen, though it’s fair to question whether this is a distraction the team needed given how much is riding on this season.

The Oilers have Stanley Cup aspirations, and adding Formenton may make sense from a hockey perspective. But there’s no denying that this signing comes with significantly more baggage than your typical depth addition. Edmonton will now have to deal with the attention that comes with bringing him into the organization while simultaneously trying to keep the focus on what happens on the ice.

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