Around the NHL — Episode XLXVII

[guyzeur]

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere:

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

One-time Ottawa Senators forward, who is facing a sexual assault charge in London, Ont., has filed a lawsuit against his former agent, Rick Westhead writes.

www.tsn.ca

I've read it too and was surprised no thread about it

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere:

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

One-time Ottawa Senators forward, who is facing a sexual assault charge in London, Ont., has filed a lawsuit against his former agent, Rick Westhead writes.

www.tsn.ca

Was just reading that. Not overly relevant to the Senators anymore with him almost assuredly never playing in Ottawa again, but interesting nonetheless. Sounds like he'd like that QO opportunity back.

 

[Hale The Villain]

They traded the older goalie and kept the young one who had just as good numbers and more potential.

They definitely kept the right one and any team would’ve kept Swayman over Ullmark.

Definitely could argue they should’ve kept Ullmark this season though or at least waited until Swayman is signed to trade Ullmark. It was poorly played by Boston and the negotiation went public. Now Swayman, coming in with no training camp, has even more pressure. Boston as an organization really f***ed up this entire situation.

Not worried for Swayman though. 8 games won’t undo what he did over 100+ games.

No one takes Ullmark over Swayman if the cost to acquire and re-sign either one is the same, but I think there's an argument given their future looks to be mediocre after contending for so long, perhaps keeping the older goalie made sense if they could have gotten a lot more in return for Swayman this summer and not had to take on a cap dump like Korpisalo in the deal.

Ullmark + Bussi/DiPieto = 5.75M cap hit this season, probably 7-8M next year and beyond (don't think Ullmark even gets 8M in Boston, probably takes a longer deal at less money like 7M x 7YRs)

vs.

Swayman + Korpisalo = 11.25M for the next 4 seasons

Could have kept a guy like DeBrusk with the cap savings, or spent the 5M in space a different way to improve the roster. Add in an another significant asset or two by getting more for Swayman (due to no NTC limiting his market) and I think Boston may have been better off trading Swayman.

Judgement call either way IMO.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere:

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

One-time Ottawa Senators forward, who is facing a sexual assault charge in London, Ont., has filed a lawsuit against his former agent, Rick Westhead writes.

www.tsn.ca

If I was Anthony Duclair, I would be watching this lawsuit very closely. If Formenton successfully sues his agent for receiving bad career advice, that means that Anthony Duclair could be sued by Anthony Duclair for how he mishandled his contract in the 2020 offseason.

Luckily for Duclair, it worked out in the end, but I'd still be worried.

 

[Emerica]

Just a gentle reminder that we could easily have taken Drysdale over Sanderson

I was on team Drysdale for sure at the time

 

[Micklebot]

If I was Anthony Duclair, I would be watching this lawsuit very closely. If Formenton successfully sues his agent for receiving bad career advice, that means that Anthony Duclair could be sued by Anthony Duclair for how he mishandled his contract in the 2020 offseason.

Luckily for Duclair, it worked out in the end, but I'd still be worried.

Didn't Duclair decide to represent himself rather than follow his agent's advice? Not sure how you sue for that...

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

No one takes Ullmark over Swayman if the cost to acquire and re-sign either one is the same, but I think there's an argument given their future looks to be mediocre after contending for so long, perhaps keeping the older goalie made sense if they could have gotten a lot more in return for Swayman this summer and not had to take on a cap dump like Korpisalo in the deal.

Ullmark + Bussi/DiPieto = 5.75M cap hit this season, probably 7-8M next year and beyond (don't think Ullmark even gets 8M in Boston, probably takes a longer deal at less money like 7M x 7YRs)

vs.

Swayman + Korpisalo = 11.25M for the next 4 seasons

Could have kept a guy like DeBrusk with the cap savings, or spent the 5M in space a different way to improve the roster. Add in an another significant asset or two by getting more for Swayman (due to no NTC limiting his market) and I think Boston may have been better off trading Swayman.

Judgement call either way IMO.

Heading in, I would have said Swayman hands down, but this is a reasonable argument.

With the contract Ullmark ultimately signed, it is a pretty perfect deal, and not having to take on an albatross Korpse, while presumably getting more in return for Swayman may have been a better play. Using said cap space to potentially keep a guy like DeBrusk in house just adds to that. Still not a slam dunk, but certainly gives some thought.

Didn't Duclair decide to represent himself rather than follow his agent's advice? Not sure how you sue for that...

This time you missed the joke... you'd better meme yourself

 

[Tuna99]

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere:

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

One-time Ottawa Senators forward, who is facing a sexual assault charge in London, Ont., has filed a lawsuit against his former agent, Rick Westhead writes.

www.tsn.ca

What a massive bullet the Sens dodged by having Formenton refuse his qualifying offer. For how fragile the ownership and management was to have that massive cloud attached to Batherson as well, what a nightmare. Batherson really got some slings thrown at him when the new broke and he stayed quiet about it

Anyways, very lucky Formenton rejected the qualifying offer, would have been dark clouds around here when our Sens ship was already in deep water

 

[Micklebot]

This time you missed the joke... you'd better meme yourself

 

[SpezDispenser]

I was on team Drysdale for sure at the time

Perhaps me too, ngl

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Didn't Duclair decide to represent himself rather than follow his agent's advice? Not sure how you sue for that...

The joke is that he was his own agent that summer. The humor is based around both subjects of the joke being the same person, and how absurd it would be for Anthony Duclair to be worried that he will sue himself.

 

[Micklebot]

The joke is that he was his own agent that summer. The humor is based around both subjects of the joke being the same person, and how absurd it would be for Anthony Duclair to be worried that he will sue himself.

How long do I have to wear the ceci jersey for in the corner to repent for my sins?

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Not accepting his QO was a terrible move.

Even if he only got two more seasons at 6 figures, you also have to factor in the NHLPA pension. I may be misunderstanding the formula, but each full season is apparently with 27.5k.

It was nearly guaranteed that he would be in the NHL. 20 goals the previous year. So assuming I'm not misunderstanding the pension, he basically lost 55K a year at age 62.

My guess is that his agent knew he was done playing because of the allegations, and tried to gamble on securing one big payday.

I wont pretend to know if he has a case, but based on my Internet law degree I would guess that they would settle with him because they won't want to risk setting a precedent where a player can claim that the agent didn't sit down with him and read off the entire Cap friendly FAQ prior to advising him on a contract decision.

How long do I have to wear the ceci jersey for in the corner to repent for my sins?

Wearing a Ceci jersey is not punishment. You've gotta wear a Legwand jersey.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere:

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

One-time Ottawa Senators forward, who is facing a sexual assault charge in London, Ont., has filed a lawsuit against his former agent, Rick Westhead writes.

www.tsn.ca

Hope he wins it

 

[GCK]

I was on team Drysdale for sure at the time

I was never on team Drysdale. I was higher on Brandt Clarke in the following draft.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Not sure if this has been posted anywhere:

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

One-time Ottawa Senators forward, who is facing a sexual assault charge in London, Ont., has filed a lawsuit against his former agent, Rick Westhead writes.

www.tsn.ca

It's kind of an interesting case because the investigation wasn't reopened until July 2022. So, did the Senators know that Formenton was involved even though the case was settled out of court in May 2022? Seems unlikely since the settlement was between Hockey Canada and the victim and those types of out-of-court settlements usually seal the facts and shield the names of everyone involved.

Both Foote and McLeod signed 1-year deals for 2023-24, so we can presume that teams didn't know which players were specifically involved. So why would the Sens have known about Formenton? Did he really decide not to play at all in the NHL to get a contract extension? Seems kinda curious for him to do that. Will be an interesting one to follow as the sexual assault trial starts next year.

 

[Loach]

It's kind of an interesting case because the investigation wasn't reopened until July 2022. So, did the Senators know that Formenton was involved even though the case was settled out of court in May 2022? Seems unlikely since the settlement was between Hockey Canada and the victim and those types of out-of-court settlements usually seal the facts and shield the names of everyone involved.

Both Foote and McLeod signed 1-year deals for 2023-24, so we can presume that teams didn't know which players were specifically involved. So why would the Sens have known about Formenton? Did he really decide not to play at all in the NHL to get a contract extension? Seems kinda curious for him to do that. Will be an interesting one to follow as the sexual assault trial starts next year.

Or you could presume that the other teams did know and it was only 1 year deals to see how things went.

 

[GCK]

What a massive bullet the Sens dodged by having Formenton refuse his qualifying offer. For how fragile the ownership and management was to have that massive cloud attached to Batherson as well, what a nightmare. Batherson really got some slings thrown at him when the new broke and he stayed quiet about it

Anyways, very lucky Formenton rejected the qualifying offer, would have been dark clouds around here when our Sens ship was already in deep water

Before this gets deleted, I’m saying Formenton did nothing wrong based on all info out in the public realm.

 

[Loach]

Before this gets deleted, I’m saying Formenton did nothing wrong based on all info out in the public realm.

Public realm

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Before this gets deleted, I’m saying Formenton did nothing wrong based on all info out in the public realm.

I can't say I have sympathy after what I read with the deeper dives in the court filings on the main boards. Whether or not it leads to guilty verdicts and what info comes out will be interesting.

 

[Tragedy]

Before this gets deleted, I’m saying Formenton did nothing wrong based on all info out in the public realm.

 

[StoicSensFan]

Both Foote and McLeod signed 1-year deals for 2023-24, so we can presume that teams didn't know which players were specifically involved. So why would the Sens have known about Formenton?

Batherson maybe?

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Friedman seemed to hint at the possibility that other GMs might have viewed Briere shopping Hart as being done in bad faith after Hart took the leave of absence and the extent of the situation was clarified league wide. He said he "wondered", but if you learn to read between the lines Friedman sometimes says that when he can't or won't report something. When he's just making HFBoards speculation like the rest of us, he is always very careful to clarify that he has heard nothing because he doesn't want to be misquoted.

If I had to guess based on everything we know is that his agent may have known about the possibility of this going sideways and he wanted to secure the biggest possible contract in the short term.

If you look at the Senators position, they often gave out term to players just to kick money down the road and manage their budget better. So if I was his agent, I might think that the Senators could be convinced to go 2-3 years just to get Formenton cheap in year 1. I also might look at the Senators being vulnerable to an offer sheet because of their budget. For example, a big market team could have gone 3 years at 2.1M but front loaded the money, also possible paid Formenton in signing bonuses, and only owed Ottawa a third round pick. Granted, a team ready to do that would probably try to trade for Formenton.

My guess is that the market never materialized for him because of the smoke around the situation, and then when he went to Europe it exposed where he was at with his play and all NHL interest evaporated. NHL teams will bear controversy to get what they think is a good player or prospect at a steep discount (The Coyotes draft pick to Boston, Logan Mallioux, the Oilers signing Cody Ceci, etc), but they aren't going to do it to get someone they aren't excited about.

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

Batherson maybe?

Knowing how teams operate, if Formenton was willing to sign his QO or relent and come in on a 2-way deal, I highly doubt the Senators would have said no at least in the first year. Pure guess work, but it seems like that might not have been an option and by the time it might have been, Formenton had played so/so in Europe and along with the story coming out nuked his value.

If the Europe thing is being brought up as a central part of the lawsuit, maybe there is some sort of concrete proof that playing in Europe nuked his value. Like Dorion or another GM they talked to (he was a free agent) suggesting they weren't keen on signing him based on his play overseas.

 

[Icelevel]

Just kind of noticed this. It’s pretty crazy how he was yo yo’d around.
Check out the transactions. Don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before.