The Ottawa Senators are in a tough spot right now - and not just because of what’s happening on the ice.
Since December 21, the Sens have dropped nine of their last 13 games. That kind of skid is enough to derail any playoff push, and for Ottawa, it’s pushed them further down the Eastern Conference standings at a time when they desperately needed to be gaining ground. But what’s perhaps more damaging than their recent form is what’s looming off the ice: the franchise won’t have a first-round pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.
That’s not due to a trade or a calculated risk. It’s a league-imposed penalty stemming from a mishandled trade involving Evgenii Dadonov and the Vegas Golden Knights - a mistake that predates the current front office. And that’s where the real sting comes in.
On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton and Jeff Marek joined Tyler Yaremchuk to break down the situation, and Marek didn’t hold back on what he sees as a frustrating scenario for the Senators’ new leadership group.
“It’s not something Michael Andlauer or Steve Staios did,” Marek said, pointing to the fact that the current owner and GM inherited this penalty. “This was nothing that they did to cost them a first-round pick.”
And that’s the heart of the issue. The Senators are being forced to pay for a front-office misstep that occurred before the current regime took over. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially for a team in rebuild mode, where every draft pick - especially a first-rounder - is a critical piece of the puzzle.
Marek brought up the Ilya Kovalchuk situation from years ago, when the New Jersey Devils were initially docked a first-round pick for a contract violation, only to have that punishment later softened. That precedent, he suggests, could be a lifeline for Ottawa.
“I’m wondering - hoping - that this goes away,” Marek said. “I didn’t like it when it first happened, I didn’t think it was fair for Andlauer and the Senators, and I still feel the exact same way about it.”
The Senators’ current struggles on the ice are only magnified by the uncertainty off it. Without that first-round pick, they lose a major opportunity to add a top-tier talent to a young core that still needs time and development. And with the playoffs slipping further out of reach, the draft becomes even more important - not just for the roster, but for the direction of the franchise.
Whether or not the league revisits its decision remains to be seen. But for now, the Senators are trying to fight their way out of a slump with one hand tied behind their back - and a future asset already off the board.