Flames say they 'had no knowledge' of Dillon Dube's pending charges before granting leave

“We have now become aware of the charge of sexual assault that has been laid against Dillon Dube,” the Flames’ statement read. “We take this matter very seriously. Because the matter is now pending legal proceedings, we will have no further comment at this time.

“We had no knowledge of pending charges at the time Dillon’s request for a leave of absence was granted.”

In a statement to Sportsnet, Louis P. Strezos and Kaleigh Davidson – representatives for Dube – said the Flames forward will plead not guilty and “maintains his innocence. He will defend the allegations in court.”

The Flames released a statement on Jan. 21 saying that Dube had been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team “while he attends to his mental health.”

“Dillon is under the care of health professionals, and we request that Dillon’s privacy is respected during this period,” the statement said.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Dube, Philadelphia Flyers’ goaltender Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils’ forward Michael McLeod and defenseman Cal Foote were ordered to surrender to police in London, Ont. on charges for an alleged sexual assault in 2018. Alex Formenton, another alleged suspect, turned himself in on Sunday.

All four active NHLers officially took a leave of absence from their respective clubs last week. Formenton, who previously played for the Ottawa Senators and now plays for HC Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss National League, took leave from the club to fly back to Canada to report to police.