Pierre Dorion is relieved of his duties as the general manager of the Ottawa Senators, November 1, 2023. /CFP
The National Hockey League's (NHL's) Ottawa Senators has parted ways with their general manager Pierre Dorion, the team announced on Wednesday.
"I think a lot of the decisions that have been made or some of the issues that we've had could have been avoided," Senators owner Michael Andlauer said.
The league ruled on Wednesday that the Senators must surrender a first-round draft pick for either 2024, 2025 or 2026 for failing to properly alerting the no-trade clause in the contract of Russian forward Evgenii Dadonov.
When the Senators traded Dadonov to the Golden Knights in July 2021, they didn't mention to the Golden Knights of the limited no-trade clause in his contract. According to that clause, Dadonov couldn't be traded without first submitting a 10-team no-trade list. The Golden Knights traded Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022, but the deal was cancelled by the league because the Ducks were on a previously submitted no-trade list to Ottawa.
Evgenii Dadonov (L) of the Dallas Stars competes in the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 24, 2023. /CFP
Dadnonov is currently playing for the Dallas Stars.
"With respect to today's NHL serious ruling, the 73-page report that was shared with me last week stems from actions originated by our hockey club, unfortunately, that we were negligent in nature and our duty of care was ignored, which set off events that embarrassed the League and [upset] two other NHL clubs," Andlauer said. "As a member of this league, we have to be held accountable for our actions, and while this was done before my watch, I must respect the League's decision."
Steve Staios, the Senators' president of hockey operations, will take over as the interim general manager. The team will decide if they want to forfeit the first rounder within 24 hours of the conclusion of the draft lottery that season.