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.
