NEW YORK – The National Hockey League announced today that it has decided to modify the disciplinary sanction originally imposed on the Ottawa Senators’ franchise for its role in connection with the July 2021 trade of Player Evgenii Dadonov from the Senators to the Vegas Golden Knights and the subsequent, invalidated March 2022 Dadonov trade between the Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks.

The sanction originally imposed on the Senators provided for the forfeiture of the Club’s first-round draft pick in one of the 2024, 2025 or 2026 Drafts. The Senators subsequently applied to the League for reconsideration and relief from the original penalty, citing primarily the change in Club ownership and oversight which, in the Club’s view, changed the appropriateness of the penalty initially imposed. After due and thorough consideration, the League has decided that a modification of the original penalty is warranted and, accordingly, has amended the Club sanction as follows:

The Senators’ penalty will now involve the forfeiture of their first round pick in 2026 in favor of the right instead to pick 32nd overall in the 2026 NHL Draft (the last pick in the first round). The Club will not be permitted to trade or transfer its right to the 32nd overall selection in the 2026 Draft. In addition, the Club will pay a fine of $1 Million (CDN).

In order to accommodate this Draft order modification, the Club’s normal draft position in the first round – whether determined by way of the Draft Lottery or by the Club’s final standing – will be forfeited and its position will be reassigned to the 32nd selection in the first round. All other Clubs who would normally have been slotted behind the Senators in the first round will each be assigned draft selections which are one position better than where they would have otherwise selected.

With regard to the Draft Lottery, in the event the Ottawa Senators do not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, the team will still be allocated the same Lottery odds that would have normally been assigned to the Club based on and consistent with its Regular Season finish, but the Club will not be eligible to “win” the Draft Lottery. In the event a number combination assigned to Ottawa is selected in either of the two (2) Lottery Draws, it will result in a re-draw. This ensures that the odds of all other non-Playoff Clubs to win the Lottery are enhanced equally.

The $1 Million fine will be directed to the NHL Foundation Canada, a League-sponsored charitable organization whose mission is to strengthen communities and improve lives across Canada through the game of hockey by, among other things, promoting access and fostering positive experiences both on and off the ice.

The League intends to have no further comment on this matter.

* Ivan Demidov delivered the go-ahead goal to move into a tie for the most points among rookies this season and help Montreal extend its lengthy winning streak against Canadian opponents.

* Travis Konecny scored on his birthday for the second time in his career to join a short Flyers list and help Philadelphia move closer to the playoff line in the Eastern Conference.

* The first of two 14-game slates over a three-day span is set to feature the Oilers visiting the Stars on ESPN+ as well as a collection of clubs looking to gain ground in the tightly contested Atlantic Division standings.
 

Canadiens climb standings, continue to clip Canadian competition
Ivan Demidov (1-1—2) delivered the go-ahead goal with 7:20 remaining in regulation to match Anaheim’s Beckett Sennecke atop the NHL’s rookie scoring leaderboard and help Montreal (36-18-10, 82 points) move into a tie for the second-most points in the Atlantic Division with idle Tampa Bay (39-20-4, 82 points), which holds a game in hand. The Canadiens are set to clash with the Lightning two more times this season (March 31 & April 9).

* Demidov can conclude the campaign leading rookies in points after teammate Lane Hutson did so last season. Montreal would be the third team with the League’s rookie scoring leader in consecutive campaigns (outright or tied) since the current criteria was introduced in 1990-91, following Vancouver (Elias Pettersson in 2018-19 & Quinn Hughes in 2019-20) and Edmonton (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2011-12 & Nail Yakupov in 2012-13).

* Montreal improved to 13-3-0 (26 points) against Canadian teams this season, including nine consecutive wins versus domestic opponents dating to Dec. 3, 2025. The Canadiens are tracking to conclude the season with the best record among Canadian clubs for the first time since 2016-17.
 

KONECNY’S BIRTHDAY GOAL LIFTS FLYERS TO VICTORY IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Wednesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured notes on all four teams that hit the ice including the Flyers (30-23-11, 71 points), who benefitted from a Travis Konecny goal on his 29th birthday and moved seven points back of the Bruins (36-22-6, 78 points) for the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.



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* NHL, NHLPA select 6 finalists for Hockey Innovation Competition
 

OILERS, STARS CLASH ON NATIONAL BROADCASTS DURING 14-GAME THURSDAY
The Oilers and Stars joust for playoff positioning in their respective divisions on national broadcasts in the U.S. (ESPN+, Hulu) and Canada (Sportsnet ONE) during Thursday’s 14-game slate. Elsewhere around the League, the Lightning look to stay within striking distance of top spot in the Atlantic, while the Sabres and Bruins look to keep their respective winning streaks alive.

* The Oilers are fresh off a 4-3 win over the League-leading Avalanche and looking to take down the second-place Stars tonight. Evan Bouchard carries an eight-game assist streak into Thursday and can become the second defenseman in Oilers history to post a nine-game run, following Paul Coffey (4x; longest: 17 GP in 1985-86).

* The Stars are 12-0-1 dating to Jan. 23 and own an NHL-best .962 points percentage during that span. Dallas can extend its point streak to 14 games and establish the second-longest run in franchise history, behind a 15-game stretch in 1998-99.

* The Atlantic Division-leading Sabres aim to extend the NHL’s longest active winning streak to nine games while Rasmus Dahlin (13-47—60 in 61 GP) is within striking distance of the 50-assist plateau. The Sabres captain can become the second defenseman in franchise history to post consecutive 50-assist seasons (John Van Boxmeer: 2 from 1980-81 – 1981-82) as well as the fastest Buffalo blueliner to reach the mark in a single campaign, ahead of Van Boxmeer (65 GP in 1981-82).



* The Bruins look to push their home winning streak to 14 games and match the fifth-longest run in franchise history. Boston can join Colorado (17 GP from Oct. 28, 2025 – Jan. 10, 2026) as the second team to post a 14-game home winning streak this season – the only other season to feature two teams with a run of that length was 1975-76 (PHI: 20 GP & BOS: 16 GP).

* Nikita Kucherov (391-707—1,098 in 862 GP) enters Thursday two points shy of becoming the 14th player born outside of North America to reach the 1,100-point milestone and the fourth fastest on that list to achieve the feat, behind Peter Stastny (793 GP), Jari Kurri (824 GP) and Jaromir Jagr (825 GP). Meanwhile, the Lightning need one victory to record their 12th straight season (min. 70 GP) with at least 40 wins.