NHL confirms penalty for Senators: What happens with Ottawa’s first round pick in 2026?

The NHL has announced vital changes on the disciplinary sanction imposed on the Ottawa Senators for their role in Evgenii Dadonov’s failed trade from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks. Now, the Sens won’t forfeit their first-round pick in 2026, but will select 32nd overall—regardless of where they finish in the standings.

“The Senators’ penalty will now involve the forfeiture of their first round pick in 2026 in favor of the right instead to pick 32nd overall in the 2026 NHL Draft (the last pick in the first round),” the NHL’s official statement read.

Moreover, the league announced the Senators aren’t allowed to trade or transfer their first-round selection (32nd overall) in 2026. If the Senators miss the postseason, they will enter the NHL Draft Lottery but cannot win the first overall pick—also known as “the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes”.

Thus, the league will put Ottawa through some sort of torture. They can watch the lottery, but if their name winds up in first place, a re-draw will occur. In addition to this decision, Ottawa must pay a fine of $1 million (CDN). This sum translates to roughly $734,600 USD. That’s near the neighborhood of a league-minimum, two-way contract in the NHL ($775,000).

The story behind Senators’ sanction

To fully understand the latest announcement from the NHL, we must go back in time. In July 2021, the Senators sent Dadonov to the Golden Knights in a trade that involved Nick Holden and a third-round pick in the 2022 Entry Draft. However, Ottawa left a key detail out of the conversation with Las Vegas: Dadonov’s contract included a no-trade clause.

The organization in Sin City didn’t learn that until March 2022, when the Knights agreed to trade Dadonov to the Ducks. Little did they know, the Russian winger had vetoed Anaheim. As a result, the trade fell through. Vegas and its front office were the laughingstock of the league for a while after the failed deal.

Immediately after, the Knights claimed the Sens had kept them out of the loop, and an investigation was launched. The result? The original sanction stated that Ottawa was to forfeit one of its first-round picks in 2024, 2025, or 2026. Now that’s changed, and the Senators will be allowed to select in the first round, but will do so in last place.