- Cal Foote signed a one-year deal with SHL club Färjestad BK for 2026-27
- The 2017 14th overall pick has 145 NHL games and a 2021 Stanley Cup ring
- Read below for what Färjestad said about vetting Foote before signing him
Cal Foote is leaving North America again.
Färjestad BK announced Tuesday that the 27-year-old defenseman signed a one-year deal for the 2026-27 season, and the Swedish club went out of its way to say it checked him out first. Sporting director Rickard Wallin raised the 2018 World Juniors case in the team’s own release, without being asked.
“We know the history. We have done extensive research and a careful assessment before we made our decision. We set high standards for everyone who represents Färjestad BK, and we feel comfortable welcoming Cal to the club.”
Foote was one of five players charged with sexual assault stemming from a 2018 incident involving Canada’s World Junior team. All five were acquitted in July 2025.
On the hockey side, Wallin laid out what Färjestad thinks it is getting on the blue line.
“Cal is a two-way defenseman who is stable and versatile all over the ice. He isn’t flashy, but he gets the job done efficiently in all zones and will help us become stronger and harder to play against.”
Wallin also pointed to Färjestad head coach Cam Abbott already knowing Foote well, along with references the club pulled from the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Wolves organizations. His comments are translated from the club’s Swedish release.
Tampa Bay took Foote 14th overall in 2017 out of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets. He got his name on the Stanley Cup in 2021 without appearing in a playoff game that spring, then dressed for 13 postseason contests the following year.
Hockey runs in the family. Younger brother Nolan signed a two-way deal with the Flyers earlier this summer, and their father Adam won a pair of Stanley Cups in Colorado.
The offense never followed Cal to the NHL. He finished with 20 points in 145 games between the Lightning, Predators and Devils, and Tampa Bay shipped him to Nashville with five draft picks in 2022-23 to land Tanner Jeannot.
His first stint overseas came once the trial wrapped. Foote put up 30 points in 38 games with Slovak Extraliga club HK 32 Liptovský Mikuláš in 2024-25, then spent last season on an AHL deal with the Chicago Wolves, where he had 18 points in 48 games and tacked on 11 more in 21 playoff games.
It’s a one-year deal. Since his last NHL shift with New Jersey, Foote has played in Slovakia, the AHL and now Sweden.
