May 14: The Senators have indeed retained their 2025 first-round pick and will push the forfeiture penalty down the road to 2026 in hopes of having the penalty reduced, per PuckPedia.
May 11: After a strong second half of the season, the Senators worked their way into a playoff spot for the first time since 2017. While they fell in six games to Toronto, it was certainly a step in the right direction for them.
However, they are still required to forfeit their own first-round selection either this year or next. That stems from failing to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause when they moved him to Vegas back in 2021. That was realized less than a year later when the Golden Knights tried to flip him to Anaheim at the 2022 trade deadline, but the Ducks were on his no-trade list which eventually came to light. Upset about the matter, Vegas asked the league to investigate, eventually leading to the Sens having to forfeit a pick in 2024, 2025, or 2026.
Given that they held the seventh overall pick last year, it made perfect sense to hold onto that one and the Sens used it on blueliner Carter Yakemchuk. But with their run up the standings, Ottawa is set to pick 21st overall in next month’s draft. Since it’s the first time since 2017 that their top pick fell in the 20s, there’s a case to make that this might be the right time to pay that penalty.
However, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Speaking with reporters earlier this week including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, GM Steve Staios indicated that it’s “highly likely” that they keep the selection and push the forfeiture penalty into next season.
Late last year, team owner Michael Andlauer publicly admitted he’s hoping that Commissioner Gary Bettman will eventually reduce or eliminate that penalty altogether. That approach isn’t entirely without precedent as a similar outcome happened with New Jersey’s penalty for the initial 17-year contract they gave Ilya Kovalchuk, one that was ruled as salary cap circumvention. The deal was later reworked to a 15-year agreement and approved; had that deal been played out in full, it would have expired this summer.
At the time the initial penalty was assessed, New Jersey was required to forfeit a first-round pick over a three-year stretch. But after not doing so in the first two years, Bettman opted for a lesser punishment, simply moving the first-round pick in the third year to the back of the round instead of parting with it altogether. Speculatively, Andlauer may be hoping for a similar outcome here although Bettman’s public comments to Garrioch from November indicate that’s not being considered.
Accordingly, it appears the game of chicken, so to speak, will go on into the third and final year as the Sens will hope for a lesser penalty at that time. In the meantime, barring a change of heart or a strong trade offer, it appears that they’re set on making the 21st selection on the opening night of the draft next month.
It’s the right move. Ottawa has no second round pick this year so they’d be picking for the first time late in the third round. Next year they have their first, second and three third rounders. Not to mention they’re on track to finish the same if not better than this year so push it to next year.
If they’re betting on Bettman( Pun intended), To change his mind, That might be as futile as the Steelers trying to sign Aaron Rodgers. Lose-Lose?
That’s not a pun.
Are NTC’s written into the contract?
Did VGK not have access to the contract before trading for him?
Was the NTC written on a used napkin stuff in Dorion’s desk drawer?
Is this another case of the NHL not really having rules or a system in place because it’s a garage league and they are ad hoc punishing a team at the behest of a golden child franchise?
NTC lists are a bit of a secret, the reasoning being that players don’t necessarily want everybody to know where they don’t want to be traded. Like, think of all the Canadian players who might be embarrassed if it leaks that they have all 7 Canadian teams on their NTC.
“Did VGK not have access to the contract before trading for him?”
No, it was on Ottawa to disclose it, which they didn’t. This isn’t news.
“Is this another case of the NHL not really having rules or a system in place because it’s a garage league and they are ad hoc punishing a team at the behest of a golden child franchise?”
No, it’s another case of fans being upset about a warm-weather team being successful that they get selectively outraged about anything that benefits said teams, no matter how legitimate. But, again, this isn’t news. If you’d been paying attention, you’d know this.
Ottawa should have been given a clean slate with the new ownership. No one affiliated with Melnyk’s tenure is with the team. It’s different people making the decisions now, unlike what happened in New Jersey with Uncle Lou running the show with a tight fist.
That’s hardly fair for Vegas.
Consequences are a real-life actual thing.
Vegas had an opportunity to look at the contract, both when they acquired him and when they were moving him. Vegas is owed nothing.
You can’t have a NTC via a handshake deal. It’s on paper somewhere. And at least two teams didn’t go their homework and only one, with entirely different leadership, is getting penalized for it some point in the future. It’s silly.
“Vegas had an opportunity to look at the contract, both when they acquired him and when they were moving him. Vegas is owed nothing.”
Nope, that’s not how it works. Ottawa has to disclose the NTC, which they didn’t. This isn’t a new story, go back and read about it.
It’s not like they were on trial and needed to have full disclosure….teams need to do there OWN HOMEWORK!!! This is the small print on the bottom of the page. Read it or ignore it, it’s there for you to look at. Buyer beware and know what you’re getting….all of it!
Even if the other team is deliberately hiding things from you?
Worst case scenario would be they asked about it, were told no, turned out to be a lie. Unprincipled? Sure. Hardly deserving of a 1rst round penalty. Reason? Open the contract and look yourself dammit! Should be a fine, nothing else.
Exactly, multiple organizations dropped the ball.
And the person at the top of the totem pole when that happened is literally dead now.
Seems like a weird choice given where the 2025 pick is and how good the 2026 draft is supposedly.
I think they are betting on returning to the playoffs and performing better, resulting in a lower draft choice. Couple that with the fact they are shy a 2nd this year.
Agreed. But thats a bold gamble.
Vegas should have done its due diligence. They had Dadonov’s contract and didn’t review it—it’s not Ottawa’s fault. Dorion should have disclosed the NTC, but Vegas also should have asked if there was one. If a team trades for a player without a physical, the team takes the risk.
Also, Bettman knew a penalty was coming and was legally obligated to disclose it when the team was sold, but he only announced it after the sale was executed. Andlauer has a legal case against the NHL; should he pursue it? How would that look? Bad faith all around.
Funny how when it’s Vegas on the short end you claim they “should have done its due diligence.” But when it’s Ottawa, it’s someone else’s fault for not disclosing information. You can’t have it both ways.
I’m not a fan of either, nor am I jealous when a “warm-weather team” wins. Nobody gives a crap.
To think that a multimillion organization would do a phone call deal without someone checking out the contract situation…..owner,GM,lawyers and everybody in between…..is laughable. Or to be laughed at. Then nobody notices it for a year? Hilarious!
Also, it seems presumptuous to think that the NTC would have been a deal breaker
If the rules state that you must disclose certain contractual information and you don’t, you have broken the rules. Ottawa broke the rules. They should be punished.