The Ottawa Senators will not be forfeiting the seventh overall pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, according to general manager Steve Staios.
Staios announced the decision Wednesday while introducing new head coach Travis Green to the media. The team had 24 hours after Tuesday’s draft lottery to decide whether or not they would forfeit the pick.
The Senators are required to forfeit a first-round pick for the role the team played in a voided trade that would have sent Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022.
The Golden Knights, who had acquired Dadonov from the Senators during the previous summer, were under the impression the Russian forward had not submitted his no-trade list in time to Ottawa during the 2021-22 season. As it turned out, that wasn’t true, and Anaheim was among the teams on Dadonov’s list. The deal was subsequently voided by the NHL.
It was not until November 2023 that the league handed down Ottawa’s punishment.
Since the Senators have opted to retain this year’s first-round pick, they will now either have to forfeit their pick in 2025 or 2026.
