All five players acquitted in the 2018 London, Ont., sexual assault trial will be eligible to sign with NHL teams as soon as Oct. 15.

Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton were each charged with one count of sexual assault in an incident that occurred while they were celebrating their World Junior championship on behalf of Hockey Canada from June 17 to 19, 2018. Michael McLeod was charged with one count of sexual assault, plus one count of being a party to the offences.

After a two-month trial, all five players were acquitted by Justice Maria Carroccia in London on July 24.

The NHL has announced that the players will be allowed back into the league. They’ll be eligible to sign contracts beginning Oct. 15, though they will continue to be suspended until Dec. 1.

“The

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