Alex Formenton sues agent for $20 million

[wonton15]

This guy is an idiot.

 

[Memento]

How can you say he was an AHL level player? At the time when the representation ended, he had just come off an 18 goal and 32 point season in 79 games. He's also not a natural pure skill guy. More of a speedy guy that can chip in some offense, but his speed is the best asset. Those totals for what he is are pretty good. This was at the age of 22, and at the age of 20 he had 27 goals and 53 total points in 61 AHL games. There's every reason to believe he had a role in the NHL. Claiming he was an AHL player is bonkers.

Maybe he doesn't reach 1000 games. I agree with your suggestion that he might've not stuck in the NHL for that many years (hard to know exactly), but whether that's true doesn't really matter towards whether he has a case (dollar amount is a different discussion, I'll get to that below). If he'd have an NHL spot on merit at the time he was advised what he was, he's an NHL player for the sake of his claim in this lawsuit.

I think the 20 million in earnings sounds spurious. I don't know that he'll get anywhere near what he asks for, but I can see him getting something out of this from Newport. And it's a common tactic anyway in a lawsuit to ask for more than you deserve. Same thing that's done with contract negotiations. You start very high, and let the price be driven down to a point both sides can meet at.

I know what the tactics are. I just think 20 million is especially frivolous, and suing his agent for his own stupid decisions is even more frivolous. There's not a chance in the nine levels of hell he would've sniffed 1,000 NHL games. No way he could've earned even half of that. Especially after being indicted.

He was a tweener at best. Speed and chipping in occasional offense doesn't mean shit without any defense or physicality for a third/fourth line player - and don't tell me Formenton could play defense well or he was physical when he wasn't either.

This is a completely ignorant take on Formenton. You should stop listening to whoever told you that.

AHL/NHL tweener at f***ing best. Especially considering that he's been charged with f***ing sexual assault. It was going to come out anyway, and it did. He should've accepted the contract he was given. He should've listened to that f***ing little bit of conscience (if he even had it) that said, "Hey, sexual assault is f***ing wrong." He should've listened to his f***ing agent that he's now suing for his own f***ing mistakes.

Forgive me for not having any sympathy or any positive feelings for him or his career - or the careers of the accused, for that matter, which is what I stated in my answer to you.

 

[Maple Leaf]

Isn't this guy an alleged (redacted)

 

[Quinning]

It is terrible when people get taken advantage of by others and it's not their fault and they don't want it to happen, isn't it?

Thread won.

 

[inthewings]

This guy is such a f***ing loser

 

[NewtJorden]

Yeah, i'm not going to feel bad for him. Hope he lose the case.

 

[HolyGhost]

Think thatd be extremely hard to win...

Wouldnt wish him any luck with it either.

I don't think he will win due to the fact that his name was the first name out there when the shit hit the fan.

It sounds more and more like teams knew he was involved in something dirty long before it became public and did not want to have him in their organization when the news broke.

I think this is more about him trying to come of as a victim.

 

[theVladiator]

I think it's going to be hard for Formenton to make a case here. There isn't a well established precedent of what an NHL agent is supposed to achieve when the client is an alleged rapist. And the latter is going to be the ultimate reason for his contract negotiations and career to go in the direction it went. I think for him to succeed he would have to essentially prove otherwise, and that doesn't seem very likely.

And that's before even getting into the fact that without a valid active contract between him and the agent, there wasn't any real obligation from the agent to do anything (other than maybe relay an offer if any such offer came his way).

 

[WarriorofTime]

Worth a shot from his pov. Even if Arnott and Newport think they could win, given they were repping Formenton throughout the alleged incident and subsequent investigations, it’s possible some details of their advisement and involvement could become public that they’d rather not have out there, possibly even opening them up to further potential civil liability. They may just be better off quietly settling with him.

I wouldn’t settle for one dime if I’m them. Even on their face, these claims are frivolous. I don’t need every has been and never was thinking our agency will pay out money to anyone upset they didn’t make more money in their career. And that’s before even getting into the nature of the particular plaintiff here. Like who do you think comes away with “bad press” here?

 

[Auston Marlander]

Didn't he turn down his qualifying offer before going overseas?

That's part of the lawsuit. I believe he's claiming he was advised to turn it down. Probably more nuanced than that, but as a gist

 

[Jumptheshark]

Do you think he told his agent "Hey, I'm one of the dudes involved with the Hockey Canada scandal," before that went public? Or, "I'm worried about the group sex I had with a girl and a bunch of other players after the WJC tourney. What if that gets out? Do you think I'll get a better offer?"

The agent wouldn't have known at that point if his client didn't tell him.

It sounds like the Hockey World knew about what happened prior to it becoming public knowledge.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Formenton just may not be intelligent. Because I know either way he's losing that case, can't say I blame him because he just wants to afford living a lowkey life of regret or know if proven guilty he's set when he's out of jail. All lawsuits are if not people being salty are people who just want money.

I think the bigger joke here is Tav4Oilers wanting to interview him for a podcast because of this. Like that dude is that desperate? He collaborated with Dave Wheeler who said some messed up things to get himself fired in Winnipeg to get hired by a trash radio station aka the last resort.

All I think Trav4Oilers is good for is being the greatest pro wanna-be of all-time. Like I get it, your guardians put everything they had into your career, but you need to give up the dream whether you like it or not. I wish I made the Chel, but knew to give it up when I was nineteen.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I think it's going to be hard for Formenton to make a case here. There isn't a well established precedent of what an NHL agent is supposed to achieve when the client is an alleged rapist. And the latter is going to be the ultimate reason for his contract negotiations and career to go in the direction it went. I think for him to succeed he would have to essentially prove otherwise, and that doesn't seem very likely.

And that's before even getting into the fact that without a valid active contract between him and the agent, there wasn't any real obligation from the agent to do anything (other than maybe relay an offer if any such offer came his way).

HE is suggesting the malfeasance was done prior to it becoming public knowledge. But as others have suggested teams MAY have known there was something coming down about this guy.

From my perspective there were rumblings on this site for about 4 years previous to it becoming common knowledge that there was off ice problems. IF posters on this site were talking about...what are the chances the NHL world knew about it?

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Poor Alex, if he loses this I’d say we start a GoFundMe page for him

‘Alleged rapist cruelly betrayed by his agency needs your help to make more money than any of you will ever see so please dig deep into your pockets and give generously’

 

[Jumptheshark]

from the NY Times/Athletic

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5890976/2024/11/01/alex-formenton-hockey-canada-lawsuit/

The lawsuit makes no mention that Formenton was under scrutiny at the time for his involvement in an alleged group sexual assault that garnered international headlines.

If that is true that could be the ball game. The agent may not have known of the investigation. Due to him coming off a good season of course he did not take the Q offer

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

There's not a chance in the nine levels of hell he would've sniffed 1,000 NHL games. No way he could've earned even half of that. Especially after being indicted.

He was a tweener at best. Speed and chipping in occasional offense doesn't mean shit without any defense or physicality for a third/fourth line player - and don't tell me Formenton could play defense well or he was physical when he wasn't either.

But it quite literally doesn’t matter if he would’ve played 750 games or 200 when speaking about if he could recover something. He doesn’t have to show he would’ve been a great NHL player. If he could’ve worked in the NHL at the time, he has grounds to recover. And considering NHL teams cycle through plenty of players regularly who only get play a few hundred games, there’s pretty much no scenario he wasn’t receiving some type of one way deal if he was a UFA. He absolutely has decent grounds to claim he could’ve earned an NHL salary for at least 2 seasons past his last season.

 

[Jumptheshark]

But it quite literally doesn’t matter if he would’ve played 750 games or 200 when speaking about if he could recover something. He doesn’t have to show he would’ve been a great NHL player. If he could’ve worked in the NHL at the time, he has grounds to recover. And considering NHL teams cycle through plenty of players regularly who only get play a few hundred games, there’s pretty much no scenario he wasn’t receiving some type of one way deal if he was a UFA. He absolutely has decent grounds to claim he could’ve earned an NHL salary for at least 2 seasons past his last season.

Why didn't ANY NHL team offer sheet him?

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

Is it because he only wanted to deal with one agent, but that agent invited a bunch of other agents into the room to work on a counter proposal?

You've gotta' feel for a guy who has to deal with misconduct like that.

 

[Jumptheshark]

here is my last 2 cents on one problem of the case


Most people think the NHL careers of all the players involved in the court case is over. My guess he is looking at what Carter Hart got in his time with the flyers and thinks he should have gotten that. This guy only played 1 full season in the NHL. If he wins this he may just win 2 years of the Qualifying sheet and not for the loss of career earning. All players are currenting UFAS and if found NOT guilty they will go back about their careers(MAYBE) Alex is 25 years old and why is he not playing in Europe this year with the likes of Foote or McLeod?

 

[CanadienShark]

Absolute scum. I hope he receives nothing except a large legal bill. The guy has already had an exceptionally large income for someone his age. I don't feel any pity for him at all.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Formenton just may not be intelligent.

That's my takeaway. He could've made a lot of money playing in Switzerland, Germany or Russia but instead he quit hockey to work in construction. He could've accepted a qualifying offer from the Ottawa Senators and didn't despite knowing it would become known that he was suspect of a criminal case.
But a person who must be even dumber is Pierre Dorion who offered him a qualifying offer despite him being suspect and he of all people must've known.

 

[ijuka]

I'd say the main problem here is that he's a rapist, not that his agent wronged him. Or?

 

[ozzie]

If there was ever a time to use the phrase 'read the room' it's here.
Alleged, guilty or not. Pretty terrible timing, he obvious can't hack working a real job in construction.

 

[Jumptheshark]

great take from a talking head on the radio.

"Player is suggesting it was the agent who ruined his career"

 

[ColbyChaos]

Worked construction for a month and is already over it lmao