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

Former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton, one of five one-time National Hockey League players charged by police in London, Ont., with sexual assault, has filed a $20.5 million lawsuit against player agency Newport Sports Management Inc. and Wade Arnott, his former agent, alleging negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty.

Formenton, who is now 25, alleges that he suffered income loss for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 NHL seasons, plus future income arising from lost playing time in the NHL, because of Arnott and Newport’s misconduct.

Formenton has asked a court to award him $20 million in damages and a further $500,000 in punitive damages because of Newport’s “bad faith and high-handed conduct.”

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

“As his agent, Wade and Newport Sports owed Alex a duty of care,” Formenton’s lawsuit reads. “At all material times, they were negligent in exercising their duties as agent to Alex and did not meet the required standard of care expected of a professional agent. Alex pleads that the services and counsel provided by Wade and Newport Sports were done negligently, carelessly and unskillfully…”

Formenton was the Senators’ second-round selection in the 2017 NHL draft. At the time, he was 17 and signed a standard player-agent contract with Newport, with Arnott, Meehan and agent Pat Morris as guarantors.

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

For the subsequent three seasons, Formenton mostly played with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights and with the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville, Ont. He established himself as an NHL regular in Ottawa in 2021-22, a season in which he scored 18 goals and tied for the league lead with five shorthanded goals.

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

Formenton alleges in his lawsuit that after he contacted Arnott in July 2022 and asked for advice on how to proceed, Arnott failed to advise Formenton that by accepting the qualifying offer Formenton could enter negotiations in January 2023 for a new, third contract, commencing with the 2023-24 season.

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

“For the remainder of July to December 2022, Wade continued to represent and hold out to Alex that he would yet be offered a new contract by the Ottawa Senators,” the lawsuit reads. “Wade advised that even without an accepted offer or extended qualifying offer his dealings with the Ottawa Senators on behalf of Alex was ‘business as usual’ and that Alex should rely on Wade and Newport Sports to secure a favourable offer.

“Wade’s advice was wrong. The Ottawa Senators did not propose or agree to a new contract with 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 of 2022, Formenton agreed to a $125,000 contract with Ambri-Piotta, a pro hockey team in Ambri, Switzerland.

“During the negotiations of the Ambri-Piotta contract, Wade asked for a contract clause that would allow Alex to return to play with the NHL, should Newport Sports and Alex be able to negotiate a new NHL contract,” the lawsuit reads. “At no time during the contract negotiations with Ambri-Piotta did Wade advise Alex of the consequences or possible repercussions of transferring to a European team and the impact this may have on a continued career in the NHL.”

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

Also in January, Formenton, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, and Cal Foote were charged with sexual assault. All five players were members of Canada's 2018 World Juniors team and are accused of sexually assaulting a woman referred to in court documents as E.M., 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 to have their cases heard by a judge and jury. An eight-week trial has been set to begin on Sept. 8, 2025, but it’s possible the trial could begin as early as April 22, 2025, if all pre-trial matters have been addressed.

In a series of court documents filed this spring, after some of the defendants asked for permission to leave Canada before the trial for training and work purposes, Formenton wrote in an affidavit that he is living in the Barrie, Ont., area, working in the construction industry and training both in heavy equipment operation and administration.

“I have been learning to operate excavators, skid-steer loaders and rollers,” he wrote. “Having focused on hockey my entire life, it is challenging to transition to a new line of work.”