Senators Fans Won’t Miss The Irony Of Vegas Suddenly Having To Forfeit A Draft Pick
Vegas will have to give up a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and head coach John Tortorella will be fined $100,000.
For most of the past three years, the Senators and their fans have been bracing themselves for the loss of an upcoming first-round draft pick. And for much of this season, it looked like this was going to be the year. After former management failed to disclose that Evgenii Dadonov had a 10-team no-trade list when trading him to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021, the league came down hard on the Senators, docking them a first-round draft pick.
It was something they would have to forfeit in either 2024, 2025 or 2026. Many Senators fans were steamed with the Golden Knights for lobbying the league as hard as they did to penalize Ottawa for what had happened. After all, the punishment didn’t help the Knights at all, and it's not like they lost the asset.
They successfully traded Dadonov to Montreal a few months later. On Sens Nation, THN's Steve Warne says the Senators biggest needs aren't at forward. Now, a little over a month away from the NHL Draft, in a stunning turn of events, it’s suddenly Vegas that will lose a 2026 draft pick, not the Senators.
Two months ago, after considerable lobbying of the league by the Senators, the NHL agreed to take their forfeited draft pick off the table. They amended the penalty, giving the club back a first-round pick, although it will be 32nd overall, while insisting on a $1 million fine. Meanwhile, it’s Vegas that will suddenly have to give up a pick this summer.