Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer is hoping that good behaviour will help his team out in the long room.
In November 2023, the NHL ruled that the Senators must forfeit a first-round pick for the role the team played in a trade being invalidated. The Senators traded forward Evgenii Dadonov to Vegas in July 2021 and failed to supply the Golden Knights with the player’s 10-team no-trade list.
Vegas attempted to send Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022 before the move was nixed by the NHL Central Registry because he had not waived his no-trade clause.
Andlauer, who did not own the team when the initial trade happened, is hoping that the Senators can get the same kind of relief the New Jersey Devils did for a similar situation.
"It is what is it, we move forward, it was before my time," Andlauer said on Amazon Prime's first-period intermission show on Monday. "I accept a lot of deliberation went through. I just hope that being good citizens we can get the same type of relief New Jersey did some years ago with a similar situation."
The Devils were forced to forfeit a first-round pick for attempting to circumvent the salary cap by signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year deal in 2010.
The league originally docked the club a first-round pick in either 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014, along with a third-rounder in 2011 and $3 million for trying to give the Russian star a contract that lasted until his mid-40s just to even out the cap hit.
But after the Devils opted not to give up the first-round pick in the first three years, in 2014, the league ruled the team would no longer need to give up the pick.
The Devils applied to the league for reconsideration and relief from a portion of the original penalty, citing primarily changes in circumstances which, in the club's view, changed the appropriateness of the sanctions.
The NHL did not spell out what changed, but Kovalchuk retired from the NHL after 2013 and returned to Russia to play there.
In the Senators' case, the league said the team could give up the pick in either 2024, 2025 or 2026. Ottawa opted not to give up the pick in the 2024 draft.
We will have to see if patience pays off in the same way for Andlauer and the Senators.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.