The NHL announced on Thursday that the five players acquitted on sexual assault charges six weeks ago will be eligible to resume their careers during the 2025-26 league season.

The decision declared that Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod are unrestricted free agents and may sign contracts with any team. Those contracts can be registered with the NHL on Oct. 15, the players may begin conditioning on Nov. 15 and can appear in a game on Dec. 1.

The fifth player, Alex Formenton, is a restricted free agent who is still on the Ottawa Senators' reserve list. He would have to reach a deal with the team by Dec. 1 to be eligible for NHL games in 2025-26. However, Formenton signed with Swiss team Ambri-Piotta last week, so his playing situation is unclear.

All five of the play

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