The NHL officially modified its punishment against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, reinstating their 2026 first-round draft pick.
Instead of forfeiting the pick entirely for their role in the botched Evgenii Dadonov trade, the Senators will now be automatically slotted at 32nd overall in the upcoming draft, regardless of their final standing.
#NHL announces that it has restored the #GoSensGo 1st round pick that was originally forfeited as penalty for the Evgenii Dadonov trade misstep.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 12, 2026
There are stipulations: Ottawa will pick 32nd overall. Cannot trade it or win Draft Lottery. And will pay $1 million fine. pic.twitter.com/yvAgRiLFWs
The league cited the 2023 change in ownership to the Michael Andlauer group as a primary reason for the reconsideration. The original penalty was levied after the NHL determined the Senators failed to disclose Dadonov's 10-team no-trade list when they traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights in July 2021. This lack of transparency caused a subsequent 2022 deal between Vegas and the Anaheim Ducks to be voided, as Anaheim was on Dadonov's list.
The NHL used the New Jersey Devils' 2014 "reinstatement" as a direct precedent. In that case, the Devils had a forfeited pick restored at 30th overall following the retirement of Ilya Kovalchuk, a move that occurred under different ownership than when the original cap-circumvention violation took place.