Senators to forfeit 1st-round pick for role in botched Dadonov trade

The Ottawa Senators will forfeit a first-round draft pick for their role in the voided trade of Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022, the NHL announced Wednesday.

Ottawa originally dealt the winger to Vegas in July 2021, but failed to disclose Dadonov's 10-team, no-trade list.

The Golden Knights then attempted to send Dadonov, who signed a three-year, $15-million US contract with Ottawa in October 2020, to the Ducks in March 2022, only to later learn the Anaheim was on his no-trade list.

That forced the league to negate the transaction roughly 48 hours later.

The NHL said in a brief statement that Ottawa will give up its first-round draft pick in 2024, 2025 or 2026. The Senators will have 24 hours following the conclusion of each draft lottery to decide if that year's pick will be forfeited.

Vegas tried to deal Dadonov and a second-round pick to Anaheim for defenceman John Moore and the contract of injured forward Ryan Kesler ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.

The NHL said at the time the trade could not be completed because Dadonov's contract included a limited no-trade clause, "which has not been complied with."

The Golden Knights, who eventually traded Dadonov to the Montreal Canadiens, said in a statement Wednesday: "We appreciate the league's diligence on this matter and respect the decision."

Dadonov was traded by Montreal to the Dallas Stars ahead of last season's deadline, and signed a two-year, $4.5-million contract extension in June.