NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL is reinstating five players who were acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from an incident in 2018 when they were members of Canada's world junior team, announcing Thursday they will be eligible to sign a contract Oct. 15 and take part in games Dec. 1.

The move comes roughly seven weeks since Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were found not guilty by a judge in London, Ontario. The Canadian government told lawyers for the players last month it would not appeal the ruling.

They were not in the NHL at the time of the incident.

None of the players had current contracts and all are free agents. Hart was with Philadelphia, McLeod and Foote with New Jersey, and Dube with Calgary, while Formenton was playing in Europe, and th

See Full Page