Cal Foote set to make pro return after signing with AHL team

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Cal Foote, one of the five players acquitted of sexual assault in the high-profile trial of members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team, is set to resume his hockey career in North America.

Foote signed a contract with the Chicago Wolves – the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate – on Monday, the team announced.

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The defenceman, who turns 27 on Dec. 13, becomes the fourth out of the five players to continue their stalled pro hockey careers since the trial wrapped earlier this year.

Foote was on trial alongside Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Dillon Dube, with only the latter not suiting up this season.

Hart signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in mid-October after the players first became eligible for new contracts. The goaltender reportedly could make his debut on Tuesday night against the Blackhawks.

Michael McLeod — who was also found not guilty of an additional count of being party to the offence of sexual assault — signed a three-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the KHL in October. The forward had played for the club last season.

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Formenton, a former Ottawa Senator, has played for HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss Hockey League since 2022, when the NHL club opted not to re-sign him.

While Dube spent 2024-25 with the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk, the 27-year-old winger has not played this season.

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None of the players involved in the trial were extended qualifying offers by their original teams this summer, after they had been cleared by the courts.

Before being put on leave of absence after the allegations came to light, Foote had played 145 career NHL games as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nashville Predators and New Jersey Devils. He had 20 points and 137 PIMs. 

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