Ottawa Senators will not forfeit No. 7 overall pick in 2024 NHL Draft

The Ottawa Senators have elected to keep the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft instead of forfeiting it as punishment for the botched Evgenii Dadonov trade between the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks.

Senators general manager Steve Staios confirmed during his media availability on Wednesday that the club will remain at the No. 7 spot. The Senators had 24 hours to decide whether or not they would forfeit the pick upon learning the results of Tuesday’s draft lottery.

Staios spoke on Wednesday to introduce Travis Green as the Senators’ new head coach. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch had previously indicated on Tuesday that the Senators would likely keep the pick and shared the confirmation to social media on Wednesday afternoon.

Steve Staios says the club won’t forfeit the #7 overall selection as the payment for the Evgenii Dadonov penalty #Sens

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) May 8, 2024

Last November, the National Hockey League ruled that the Senators must forfeit their own first-round pick in either the 2024, 2025, or 2026 draft as punishment for their role in the invalidated deal between the Golden Knights and Ducks ahead of the 2022 trade deadline.

The league ruled that the Senators had not been forthright with the Golden Knights about the trade protection in Dadonov’s deal when they traded the veteran winger to Vegas in 2021. When the Golden Knights subsequently attempted to flip Dadonov to Anaheim, they did so without knowing that the Ducks were on his ‘no-trade’ list.

The Senators relieved Pierre Dorion of his duties as their general manager the same day the league doled out its punishment, with owner Michael Andlauer describing the controversy as the ‘last straw’ for Dorion in Ottawa.

After initially being named Dorion’s replacement on an interim basis, Staios took over as the club’s full-time GM — in addition to his duties as president of hockey operations — on December 31, 2023.

The Senators have not made a first-round selection since 2021, when they took Tyler Boucher with the No. 10 pick. Boucher has struggled to remain healthy in the three seasons since he was drafted and managed just five points in 21 AHL games this past season.

After trading the No. 7 overall pick in 2022 as part of a deal for Alex DeBrincat (who lasted just one season in Ottawa), the Senators flipped the No. 12 pick in 2023 and two second-round picks for Jakob Chychrun (who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2025).

The Senators currently possess eight selections in the 2024 NHL Draft. In addition their own first-round pick, they own Boston’s first, their own second-rounder, four fourth-rounders (Tampa Bay’s, Detroit’s, Florida’s, and their own), and their own fifth-rounder.