Do the Ottawa Senators just give up the first pick this year

[viper0220]

The Ottawa Senators need to give up their first round because of the Dadonov trade f*** up.

The Ottawa Senators are in the playoffs and that pick is likely in the mid twenties, do the Ottawa Senators, say f*** it and give up the years pick and get it over with.

You never know what is going to happen next year, this is a shit gong that is hanging over the team, I hope they just get rid of it, this year.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

We absolutely should but I have a feeling we won’t

 

[viper0220]

We absolutely should but I have a feeling we won’t

Why do you have this feeling? What is the team gunning for, if they don't give up the pick this year?

 

[MarkovsKnee]

They should. It's currently 19th OA, so not 20s. It's not that deep of a draft, so they should just get it done with & move on.

 

[Relapsing]

May as well. We know where we are now, we don't know where we'll be next year.

Normally I'd say get the player now so they have an extra year to get up to the NHL, but I'd rather try our luck at a deeper draft next year

 

[WarriorofTime]

Yeah

 

[Altimus]

It just makes sense to get it over with. Also it means next year's deadline we have draft capital to move if they do even better.

 

[viper0220]

It just makes sense to get it over with. Also it means next year's deadline we have draft capital to move if they do even better.

Very true, never thought of this.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

They should rip off this band-aid now, end of story.

 

[AvatarAang]

Ridiculous that they need to give up a 1st.

Should have been a 2nd round pick and/or a hefty fine.

 

[vpasla1]

Why do you have this feeling? What is the team gunning for, if they don't give up the pick this year?

Some people think giving up the pick this year indicates that they think they'll do worse in the standings next year (so they will have a higher pick).

I agree it makes the most sense to give it up this year, as you never know what will happen in the off season and player regression.
If the Sens are on an upwards trajectory, giving up 19 this year, versus potential low 20s next year, isn't really a big difference.
However, the first round pick next year might help with buying at the deadline if they're making a strong push.

 

[jbeck5]

The Ottawa Senators need to give up their first round because of the Dadonov trade f*** up.

The Ottawa Senators are in the playoffs and that pick is likely in the mid twenties, do the Ottawa Senators, say f*** it and give up the years pick and get it over with.

You never know what is going to happen next year, this is a shit gong that is hanging over the team, I hope they just get rid of it, this year.

Hopefully the NHL reconsiders and lowers it. I would keep appealing it. Keep making it public. Keep being a pain in the ass an annoying until they lessen it.

 

[jbeck5]

Ridiculous that they need to give up a 1st.

Should have been a 2nd round pick and/or a hefty fine.

Hefty fine...and punishment to the actual person...dorion should have received an ban from the NHL.

Not punish andlauer/staios and sens fans.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

I sense this is a trade forum topic

 

[jbeck5]

I sense this is a trade forum topic

It's not a trade. It's punishment...it's more akin to a suspension or fine than a trade or signing.

 

[Hale The Villain]

We absolutely should but I have a feeling we won’t

Staios already tried to give up the Boston 1st, which was 24th overall in a better draft class, so I expect giving up a pick in the 18-21 range in a weak class is something he'll be comfortable doing.

 

[viper0220]

Staios already tried to give up the Boston 1st, which was 24th overall in a better draft class, so I expect giving up a pick in the 18-21 range in a weak class is something he'll be comfortable doing.

I never knew this, thanks for the info.

 

[kerrabria]

When do they have to decide by?

If you believe in your team and your players, you would expect to win playoff rounds next year and for the 2026 pick to be well into the 20s.

If the 2025 pick is ~19, I say keep it and use it in a trade to improve, with plans to forfeit a later pick in 2026.

 

[the valiant effort]

Don’t give it up. Call the league’s bluff

 

[TheNewEra]

Hopefully the NHL reconsiders and lowers it. I would keep appealing it. Keep making it public. Keep being a pain in the ass an annoying until they lessen it.

we should be pulling a vegas and continuously complaining about it

that being said i think we should give up the pick this year but we wont just on the very small chance the penalty gets reduced

 

[frightenedinmatenum2]

• Per Staios, they aren't acting with the idea that the league will revert the punishment.
• The team has to choose which pick to give up within 24 hours of the conclusion of the draft lottery. Meaning, they cannot wait to see if a player they have high falls to them.
• There was speculation prior to the trade deadline that mid to late 1st round picks and 2nd round picks will have less value this year, because the draft is seen as weaker than normal.
• The Senators acquired Buffalo's 2026 pick in the Norris trade. This was in spite of Buffalo owning a 2025 pick.
• The Senators gave up their own 2025 pick in the San Jose trade.
• Staios has commented throughout the year on wanting less chaos surrounding the team. It was a big motivator in him getting all the major contracts and trades out of the way as close to July 1st as possible. He didn't want things to linger.

The above info makes me think that we will give up the pick this year. It's mostly speculation, but I think that it's likely that their view of this draft aligns with the speculation about it being weaker than normal. I also do not think they will want a scenario where they keep the pick, and every time the Senators lose a game next year, people will speculate about whether they gave up a lottery pick.

If they want to pick in the draft this year, strategically it makes more sense to give up their own pick, which currently sits at 19, and then shop their 1st next year with protection. If it is true that the 1st round is seen as weak this year, a team might give up a mid or late 2025 1st for a top 10 protected 2026 1st from Ottawa. We saw a similar trade last year, with Philadelphia sending the 32nd pick to Edmonton for their 1st next year (which currently sits 23rd).

The benefit of going this route would be that the Senators could get some level of cost certainty via protecting the pick. If they keep their pick this year, there are no provisions with the league that get them their pick back if it ends up high. (I don't think they should trade into this draft, but I'm making the point that trading back into the 1st round with protection makes more sense than giving up the pick to the league).

 

[stempniaksen]

I'd wait and hope the NHL lessens the punishment, like they did for the Devils. Staois doesn't have the pull Lou does/did but there's precedent for the league scaling back on what was originally considered a steep penalty.

 

[jbeck5]

we should be pulling a vegas and continuously complaining about it

that being said i think we should give up the pick this year but we wont just on the very small chance the penalty gets reduced

Keep complaining but maybe give the pick up but then get a complimentary pick at the end of the 1st or second round to reduce punishment.

That, or just never give up a pick and go up on stage and keep making your picks and give a middle finger to Bettman and tell him he's not getting a pick from us. Confront him in the parking lot after if he tries to play tough.

 

[Brodeur]

Hopefully the NHL reconsiders and lowers it. I would keep appealing it. Keep making it public. Keep being a pain in the ass an annoying until they lessen it.

The league amended the Kovalchuk draft pick penalty for the Devils. Originally we were supposed to forfeit a 1st rounder between 2011-14. Devils had pick #29 in 2012 which seemed like the opportune time but Lou oddly decided to keep it; Urban legend in my mind was that the Devils missed the deadline to declare (48 hours after the end of the SCF) because they were involved in the SCF that year and forgot. But I vaguely recall a short statement from Lou saying they actively decided to keep the pick.

Lou kept the 2013 pick as the draft was hosted in New Jersey and it was a top 10 pick. So it seemed like they had painted themselves into a corner and were forfeiting the 2014 1st. Then in March 2014, the league announced that the penalty would be altered to the Devils 2014 1st being moved to #30.

 

[jbeck5]

I'd wait and hope the NHL lessens the punishment, like they did for the Devils. Staois doesn't have the pull Lou does/did but there's precedent for the league scaling back on what was originally considered a steep penalty.

This. Put pressure. Don't shut up about it. Keep making the league look bad.

It seems to work for other organizations to constantly put pressure on the league.

Be annoying so they don't want to punish us like that again.

We all have that friend that is super annoying to deal with certain things, so we basically ignore or avoid them with that thing.

Make, "taking punishment" as annoying as possible so no one would ever want to punish us or would only punish with very reasonable and mild punishments.