As time moved closer to last Friday’s NHL trade deadline, it became more evident the National Hockey League would rescind the forfeiture of the Ottawa Senators‘s first-round pick.
When asked in his post-deadline media availability, Senators general manager Steve Staios politely said, “That is not my area, if you know what I mean. I think if those conversations are going on, I don’t know about it; I’m managing the team under the circumstances as they are not.”
But on Thursday morning, the NHL announced its decision in a press release “to modify the disciplinary sanction originally imposed on the Ottawa Senators’ franchise for its role in connection with the July 2021 trade of Player Evgenii Dadonov from the Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights and the subsequent, invalidated March 2022 Dadonov trade between the Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks.”
That decision was to restore the Senators’ first-round selection for which it was originally penalized with a caveat. Ottawa will select 32nd overall, the final pick of the 2026 First Round. This is selection is not transferable, meaning the Senators must draft a player in this spot. In addition, the team will retain assigned odds for the Draft Lottery, there will be a re-draw if the Senators win.
The club also received a $1 million to be directed to the NHL Foundation Canada. This a league-sponsored charitable organization “whose mission is to strengthen communities and improve lives across Canada through the game of hockey, by, among other things, promoting access and fostering experiences both on and off the ice.”
In a statement to Senators’ media members, including Hockey Hot Stove, Senators owner Michael Andlauer said,“We fully accept the modified sanctions the League imposed today. We are grateful for the League and Commissioner keeping an open mind on the issue and modifying the penalty. The Senators organization is appreciative the fine money will be directed to the NHL Foundation Canada to help the growth of the sport in our country. We consider this matter closed and will have no further comments on the situation.”
So how did the Senators get to this point?
On July 28, 2021, then-Senators GM Pierre Dorion dealt forward Evgenii Dadonov to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for defenseman Nick Holden and a 2022 second-round pick. Just prior to the March 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, the Golden Knights traded Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional second-round pick, defenseman John Moore, and forward Ryan Kesler, who was on Long-Term Injured Reserve. The move was basically a salary dump of Dadonov’s $5 million salary cap hit.
This is where the Dadonov trade blew up. The Golden Knights soon found Dadonov’s contract included a 10-team no-trade clause, the Ducks were one of the teams on this list. The agreement also called for the team possessing Dadonov’s contract to request his modified no-trade list prior to trading him.
This did not occur. Per the Golden Knights, they were not made aware the no-trade clause existed as Dorion did not inform them when the initial swap was consummated.
The League eventually made the decision to relieve the Senators of either a 2024, 2025 or 2026 First-Round as penalty.
Hoping to be rescinded, the Senators kept pushing out their choice of Draft further until this juncture.
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Andlauer’s frustration
Circling back to November 1, 2023, Andlauer aired his frustration in a media conference a little over a month after being named Senators majority owner.
“Maybe they didn’t want to disrupt the sale to make sure the seller got the best price possible?,” he stated. But Andlauer did acknowledge the NHL performed their due diligence.
The Senators’ owner had a point with the League not notifying him of a major potential loss of an asset during the purchasing process.
Conclusion
The forfeiture of the pick, ended up being Dorion’s swan song and he was relieved of his position. Steve Staios, a hire by Andlauer was elevated to general manager.
How the entire situation unfolded still begs the question, did the Vegas hold any responsibility to verify if Dadonov’s contract contained a modified no-trade clause?
While this was an expensive learning lesson for the Senators, it forced the NHL Registry to update all contracts to include any modified clauses in future to protect all players and its teams.
