The National Hockey League has just announced that the Ottawa Senators will forfeit a first-round pick in either 2024, 2025, or 2026 as a result of punishment stemming from their 2021 trade that sent Evgenii Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights and subsequent, invalidated trade that would have sent the forward to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022.
"Ottawa will forfeit its first-round draft pick in one of the 2024, 2025 or 2026 Drafts," the league said in a release. "The determination as to which pick will be forfeited will be made by Ottawa within 24 hours of the conclusion of the Draft Lottery for that year. The League will have no further comment on the matter."
This started off when the Senators traded Dadonov to Vegas in return for defenseman Nick Holden and a third-round pick back in July 2021. Ottawa failed to inform the Golden Knight that Dadonov had a 10-team no-trade clause, which caused trouble at the 2022 trade deadline, and therefore the Senators are dealing with the consequences.
Ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, the Golden Knights traded Dadonov and a second-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman John Moore and Ryan Kesler’s contract. The deal was however cancelled by the NHL two days later because the Ducks were one of the teams on Dadonov’s no-trade list and the trade could not be finalized.
“The trade could not be concluded because Dadonov’s contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with,” the league said in a release back in March 2022.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Senators were expected to be disciplined for not informing the Golden Knights about Dadonov's clause. The verdict has just fallen.
Dadonov currently plays with the Dallas Stars. He first joined the Senators as a free agent in 2020 on a three-year, $15 million contract. Then, he was on his way to Vegas after just one season in Ottawa, and was moved again in the 2022 off-season to the Montreal Canadiens after the failed trade to Anaheim.
The Canadiens flipped Dadonov to the Stars at the trade deadline last February. This season, the Russian forward has collected two goals and an assist in seven contests with Dallas.
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