Elliotte Friedman Reveals What’s Next for Reinstated NHL Free Agents

The group, acquitted of charges in July and sidelined from the NHL for nearly two years, will be able to sign contracts beginning mid-October and return to play at the start of December.

"Given (the five players’) conduct, we carefully evaluated the players’ acquittal in court and the time spent away from the game," the NHL wrote in an official statement. "Taking into account that the players have been away from the game for 20 months — including since their acquittals in July — we have determined that the players will be eligible to sign an NHL contract no sooner than October 15, 2025, and eligible to play in NHL games no sooner than December 1, 2025.

"The League expects and requires that, going forward, each of the players will uphold the standards required of NHL players both on and off the ice."

Friedman didn't go the distance, waiting before making any definitive prediction on specific teams interested and expected to sign any of them, but emphasized that U.S. teams represent the likeliest landing spots.

"We'll see how the teams feel, and how the various fan bases feel, and how much the teams are monitoring the reactions of the fan base and, does that matter to them?" Friedman said. "I don't think there's any doubt that the player with the most interest is (Carter) Hart, (but) there's definitely interest in varying degrees to some of the other players."

For now, all five Canadian players await the October signing window, with teams still weighing both the on-ice impact and the public fallout that making any moves on them could cause.