Alex Formenton sues agent for $20 million

[WestCoast CyberG]

At the bottom of the article, hardly surprising but very fitting:

“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.”

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Has he not dug enough holes working in construction?

Keep digging man. Good luck

 

[seanlinden]

The important thing is what was said or not said when the advice was offered. The agreement expired a couple of weeks after the start of free agency. If prior to its expiration Arnott sat down and laid out their options for negotiating a contract, then whatever advice he gave them at that time can come under scrutiny by a court.

The suit alleges that he advised Formenton to reject the QO and wait for Ottawa to follow up with a better offer. Did he tell Formenton what his options would be if Ottawa didn’t offer anything further? Were Formenton’s choices influenced by what was/wasn’t disclosed to him at that time? Were Formenton’s later actions a direct result of the advice he received in July, or no? That’s for the court to decide. But based on what we know now, it’s not easy to say how strong Formenton’s case is.

I might go a step further than that...

Formenton will likely be able to take a position as "my job is to play hockey and I know little else", "your job is to take care of me from a contract standpoint".

Did Arnott have a conversation with Formenton about the impending expiry of his representation agreement?

Did Formenton have reasonable grounds to believe that their representation continued even though the contract had expired, that Arnott would continue to represent him, and that the contract was just a formality?

 

[ACC1224]

Didn't really follow it that closely, was he convicted of rape? why is he not in jail?

 

[Masked]

Yes, but if the agreement between them expired its legally not.
Even though they can still advice him if he wants to take the advice. But, he should have signed extension with them then.

Did you even read the article? Here's a relevant segment:

“For the remainder of July to December 2022, 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.

It's pretty clear that Formenton is claiming that Newport Sports was still representing him.

 

[tantalum]

Didn't really follow it that closely, was he convicted of rape? why is he not in jail?

He has been charged as part of the Team Canada Junior team cover-up/investigation.

The charged: Formenton, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Dillon Dube

 

[PB37]

He just won't take no for an answer.

 

[LevelingSolo]

Don’t think he’s the nicest guy out there

 

[WolfgangPuck]

No sympathy from me.
But can’t he take his hockey skill overseas ?
Didn’t he play in the Swiss league?

 

[Masked]

No sympathy from me.
But can’t he take his hockey skill overseas ?
Didn’t he play in the Swiss league?

The rumour is his significant other's family is extremely wealthy and he's working for their construction company.

 

[TheNewEra]

If there was an offer with terms out there then he has an argument potentially. That being said conduct/alleged conduct of egregious nature is enough to get contracts terminated (Richards/Kane/Perry).

Without a proper offer he can fall back on 1-2 years of qualifying offers which is 2 million. But its his and his agents fault for waiting as long as they did when the story broke and people were piecing together who could potentially be involved.

The non objective answer is **** this guy

 

[SannywithoutCompy]

Are McLeod, Hart, Dube, and Foote all going to join in during discovery?

 

[cc]

what gets me is the "future earnings" part. I don't see how declining a short term deal jeopardized future earnings

 

[tantalum]

Thanks. I knew they had been charged but reading some comments I thought that maybe they had been convicted.
Surprised the Mods are allowing so many to call him a Rapist, they usually frown on slanderous comments.

Ah Fair enough and ya I imagine some words should be chosen more carefully by some. Even if we feel they might be accurate words.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

After reading the thing, it does seem like Formenton might at least be entitled to his $787,500 QO that his agent advised him not to take (and turned out to be a big mistake)

 

[SirKillalot]

Did you even read the article? Here's a relevant segment:

“For the remainder of July to December 2022, 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.

It's pretty clear that Formenton is claiming that Newport Sports was still representing him.

Did you read the article? Article also states before we come to this segment you mention:

"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."

Meaning, there is some discrepancy in his statements. So if they didn't extend the agreement. Did they really represent him? Did he then tell them hey I don't want to sign, but fix me a good deal and I will re-sign with you guys.
Or did they agree that since he wasn't with others, they will advice and keep the dialog with Senators going? Surely the agency would say when it expires and come with a new agreement that most likely wasn't signed by Formenton.

I know from other sports as well that agents / agencies often get put in those positions where players don't want to sign things before offers are on the table. So, I'm gonna highly assume that is what Formenton was doing and he made his bed here, which isn't the agent's fault.

 

[WATTAGE4451]

Thanks. I knew they had been charged but reading some comments I thought that maybe they had been convicted.
Surprised the Mods are allowing so many to call him a Rapist, they usually frown on slanderous comments.

For some reason, the trial of all the pla,wrs isnt set until september 2025 which seems like an absurdly long wait for a crime that happened many many years ago before they were charged last year.

 

[seanlinden]

If there was an offer with terms out there then he has an argument potentially. That being said conduct/alleged conduct of egregious nature is enough to get contracts terminated (Richards/Kane/Perry).

Without a proper offer he can fall back on 1-2 years of qualifying offers which is 2 million. But its his and his agents fault for waiting as long as they did when the story broke and people were piecing together who could potentially be involved.

The non objective answer is **** this guy

It's not "unreasonable" to take a best case scenario, especially in your initial claim.

Let's say, that in year 1, he instead of going to Switzerland, he signs his QO, and goes on to score 25 goals in 60 games after missing a chunk due to the holdout.

He then would probably be in a reasonable position to obtain a 5 year deal, at say, $5m per season.

Now, that contract might have gone the way of termination eventually, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't get paid most or all of it, just like Mike Richards did. Kane & Perry, slightly different examples as one was going through bankruptcy so didn't care, the other wanted to get back into the NHL, so again, didn't push the issue.

 

[Leafs87]

The criminal case may not have a huge bearing here...

If Formenton can argue that, had his agent acted "properly", he would have been able to sign a 4 year, $20m deal, or even, a 5 year, $20m deal... Ottawa would have been on the hook for that, regardless of the outcome of his criminal trial.

Sure, there may have been cap shenanigans, attempt to terminate, etc.. but at the end of the day, he would have still gotten paid.

Good luck to him with 4/5 year 20 mill. He’s more like a 2 year 4 mill total guy at that point in his career.

 

[ACC1224]

For some reason, the trial of all the pla,wrs isnt set until september 2025 which seems like an absurdly long wait for a crime that happened many many years ago before they were charged last year.

That is strange. Wonder what the reasoning was for that?

 

[seanlinden]

Good luck to him with 4/5 year 20 mill. He’s more like a 2 year 4 mill total guy at that point in his career.

Paying for potential was absolutely a "thing" 2-3 years ago.

 

[brentashton]

tough case

Agent will say I got you the deal and you turned it down
—-
Formention is saying you should have convinced me to take it?

So his agent should have held him against his will forced him to do the act (as in put pen to paper?). Hmm tricky analogy.

Alex F can FO anytime now.

 

[seanlinden]

So his agent should have held him against his will forced him to do the act (as in put pen to paper?). Hmm tricky analogy.

Alex F can FO anytime now.

I think he's arguing that his agent should have told him "sign the QO, get into camp, put up some numbers, and we'll hit the negotiating table January 1".

 

[Breakers]

So his agent should have held him against his will forced him to do the act (as in put pen to paper?). Hmm tricky analogy.

Alex F can FO anytime now.

Future earnings will be impossible to prove.

He’s assuming looking at contracts signed around that time and his production according to another article

 

[brentashton]

I think he's arguing that his agent should have told him "sign the QO, get into camp, put up some numbers, and we'll hit the negotiating table January 1".

I understand those details. You’re not catching the intent of what I typed.