With all that has gone in the hockey world the past few seasons you probably forgot the Ottawa Senators would have been forced to give up one of their first round pics from either the 2024, 2025 or 2026 draft. That was a result of a canceled 2022 trade that would have sent Evgeni Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks. The Senators completely failed regarded to provide Dadonov’s 10 team no trade list when they trade him to Vegas the summer prior, thus causing the problem with Vega's proposed trade. After using their first round pick in the previous two drafts this would have been the year the Senators would have had to comply.
That is until the NHL surprisingly ruled the Senators are getting their first round pick pack this season. The NHL cited how much the Senators situation has changed, with their previous GM resigning as well as getting new ownership after the infamous 2022 trade fiasco. As ESPN put it, “Ultimately, the NHL agreed that the current Senators should not pay for the sins of a former regime.”
The ESPN article also mentions a similar scenario where an NHL team was punished by having to forfeit a first round pick to only get it back later on. Ironically that was with the team Dadonov found himself on this current season with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils were to forfeit a first and third round pick as punishment for their original 17 year contract to Ilya Kovalchuk in 2010. The NHL said it circumvented the still somewhat new salary cap. The Devils did comply with forfeiting the third round pick, but kept deferring forfeiting the first round pick pushing it to the 2014 NHL draft.
Ilya Kovalchuk infamously “retired” from the NHL to sign a KHL contract that previous offseason. During the 2013-2014 NHL season the league announced the Devils could pick in the first round, but they would be forced into the last spot, then 30th overall, with the specific stipulation that the pick could not be traded. The Devils had picked second two years earlier in 2011-2012 and traded their top ten pick the season before in 2012-2013. Both were picks the Devils could have forfeited to comply.
In both the Devils and Senators case, an appeal from new ownership was a major factor. Ottawa had the added benefit of having a new general manager after the Dadonov trade fallout lead to the resignation of Pierre Dorion. The Devils however still had the same general manager, hall of famer Lou Lamoriello, when the NHL announced its decision.
The situations leading to each team’s ownership change was also different. Former Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk died in 2022 and his estate (his two daughters) decided to sell the franchise for a then record price to Michael Andlauer. The Devils were sold in the same offseason as Kovalchuk’s departure after former owner Jeff Vanderbeek racked up significant debt for the franchise.
Another NHL franchise in recent memory wasn’t as lucky as the Devils and Senators. The then Arizona Coyotes were forced to give up a 2020 second round pick and a 2021 first round pick for violating the league’s combine testing policy for prospects. Unlike the Devils and Senators they were also left without the option to defer the forfeiting to another draft. Like the Senators example there was a general manager change between the violation and the punishment being fulfilled when John Chayka left the organization that offseason.
All three examples featured the teams being fined as well. The Senators ended up with a $1 million Canadian dollars fine as a result of the amended punishment. If the Senators miss the playoff they will still be allowed in the draft lottery but them winning would prompt a redraw for the first overall selection. The Devils were not included in the 2014 draft lottery. There also seems to be no mention of the Senators pick being prohibited from trade like the Devils selection that season.
Part of the Dadonov trade drama came from a dispute from the NHLPA fighting on Dadonov’s behalf. Since then the NHLPA has a new chief executive with former United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. The players union has grown in strength since then all while enjoying “labor peace” with the league.