Ottawa Senators Face Penalty as Evgenii Dadonov Trade Controversy Roils NHL

The Ottawa Senators are set to lose one of their first-round draft picks due to their involvement in a trade that took place in July of last year. This trade involved Evgenii Dadonov being sent to the Golden Knights, but it was later deemed invalid when another trade, moving Dadonov from Vegas to the Ducks in March of this year, came under scrutiny.

The issue at hand revolves around Dadonov’s contract, which includes a limited no-trade clause. This clause states that he cannot be traded without first providing a list of 10 teams that he cannot be traded to. The Ducks were on this list, but during the trade call between Vegas, Ottawa, and the NHL, this trade protection was overlooked.

As a result of this oversight, the Golden Knights felt that disciplinary action needed to be taken against the Senators. The league ultimately decided that Ottawa would have to give up a first-round draft pick in either the 2024, 2025, or 2026 NHL drafts. The specific year will be determined by the Senators after the draft lottery.

In June of this year, Dadonov was part of another trade, this time being sent from Vegas to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Shea Weber. Currently, Dadonov finds himself playing for the Dallas Stars, having accumulated 301 points over his 10-season career in the NHL, spanning a total of 493 games played.