The NHL is coming down on the Ottawa Senators.

The league is stripping a first-round pick from the Sens for their role in the voided 2022 trade that would've sent forward Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks.

The Golden Knights attempted to trade Dadonov to the Ducks at the 2022 deadline. The league initially allowed the move before voiding it after discovering that the Ducks were on Dadonov's 10-team, no-trade list. The Senators are being punished because they reportedly failed to properly inform the Golden Knights about Dadonov's no-trade list when they dealt him to Vegas in the 2021 offseason.

Neither the Golden Knights or Ducks are being punished for their part in the voided trade.

The forfeited first-rounder will come in any of 2024, 2025, or 2026. The Senators will determine which pick it will be within 24 hours of the conclusion of each year's respective draft lottery. Ottawa possesses each of its own first-round picks in that span. The club also owns an additional first-round pick in 2024 (either Detroit's or Boston's) acquired in the Alex DeBrincat trade.

Pierre Dorion has been Ottawa's general manager since April 2016. The Sens haven't reached the playoffs since the first year of his reign.

This marks the first time a team was forced to forfeit a first-round pick since the Arizona Coyotes were punished for violating the NHL's combine testing policy in 2020. They ended up being stripped of the 2021 No. 11 selection.

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Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom is stepping away from hockey indefinitely, he announced Wednesday.

"Given my ongoing injury situation, I decided to take some time and step away from the game. This is a difficult decision, but one that I feel is right for my health at this time," Backstrom said. "I want to thank my teammates, the organization, and fans for their unwavering support throughout this process. I ask for privacy at this time as I determine my next steps and viable options moving forward."

Backstrom, who turns 36 on Nov. 23, underwent hip resurfacing surgery in the 2022 offseason and has struggled to regain his prior form. He tallied 21 points in 39 games last season and one assist in eight contests so far in 2023-24. His ice time has plummeted to a career-low 14:34 this season.

"We stand behind Nicklas and will support him throughout this process," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "We know firsthand how hard he has worked and how determined he is to get back to full health. Our organization stands fully behind him while he takes his leave of absence from the team and takes time to evaluate his current health situation."

Backstrom has two years remaining on his contract with a $9.2-million cap hit.

Players who have undergone hip resurfacing surgery haven't typically enjoyed successful returns. Ed Jovanovski was one of the first athletes in the major four professional sports to have the procedure and return to action, but he only played 37 more games. Ryan Kesler had the surgery in 2019 but never played again. Free agent Patrick Kane is currently trying to make his way back from the same procedure.

Backstrom had been one of the game's premier playmaking centers since entering the league in 2007-08, ranking third behind only Sidney Crosby and Kane with 762 assists in that span.

The Swede's best season was in 2009-10 when he set career highs with 33 goals, 68 assists, and 101 points. He also led the league with 60 helpers in 2014-15 and finished as high as seventh in Selke Trophy voting in 2016-17, highlighting his strong two-way game in his prime.

The Capitals drafted Backstrom fourth overall in 2006, and he's arguably the second-best player in franchise history behind longtime linemate Alex Ovechkin. Backstrom ranks second in franchise history in games played (1,105) and points (1,033) and is first in assists.

Backstrom was integral to Washington's 2018 Stanley Cup title, producing 23 points in 20 postseason contests that year. For his career, he's recorded 114 points in 139 playoff games.

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NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league will explore the usage of neck guards following Adam Johnson's death.

"Obviously, something that needs to be looked at," Daly said, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun. "There is no reason we shouldn't be doing everything possible to keep our players safe."

Neck protection is not enforced in the NHL, and very few players, if any, wear them voluntarily. Daly hopes more players will choose to wear them despite having no mandate in place.

Johnson, who played 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019, died while playing with the EIHL's Nottingham Panthers on Saturday after his neck was cut by an opponent's skate in a freak accident.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said the organization has mandated neck protection for their AHL and ECHL teams and is exploring options for their NHL players to wear neck protection, at least for practices, as soon as possible, per The Athletic's Rob Rossi and Chris Johnston.

Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter is among players who are open to experimenting with neck protection immediately.

"Why not?" Carter said. "We do it at every other level of hockey. They have socks and wrist (sleeves) made out of (cut-resistant) material. We should have already been trying it. Shouldn't have taken this long or something like this."

Neck guards are mandatory in youth hockey in Canada, as well as the OHL and QMJHL. However, they're not mandatory in the WHL, NCAA, or USA Hockey.

The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins are also reportedly pursuing the use of neck protection in some form. The Carolina Hurricanes will also make neck protection available for players to try in practice.

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The Calgary Flames have paused all contract extension discussions, including those with Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm, amid the club's poor start to the campaign, reports Sportsnet's Eric Francis.

The Flames are 2-6-1 through nine games, placing them 31st in the NHL standings - ahead of only the winless San Jose Sharks. Calgary's minus-15 goal differential is also the second-worst in the league.

The wretched start may not necessarily result in a full rebuild, but Francis noted that a significant re-tooling, which would almost certainly involve trading Hanifin and Lindholm, is a possibility.

Hanifin and Lindholm are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the campaign. Hanifin was reportedly expected to be traded during the summer, but a deal never materialized. He said in September he was open to an extension but didn't want to sign over the summer. Lindholm also said in September that he was willing to re-sign.

Each player is in his sixth season with the Flames. They were both acquired in the 2018 trade with the Hurricanes that sent Dougie Hamilton to Carolina. Lindholm, 28, scored a career-high 42 goals in 2021-22 and has developed into a strong two-way center. He's tied for the team lead with six points this season. Hanifin, the No. 5 pick in 2015, leads all Flames blue-liners with four points and ranks second in average ice time (23:20). He's just 26 years old.

The Flames have multiple other pending UFAs who would be highly sought after if the club shifts into fire-sale mode, including defensemen Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov.

Calgary is led by first-year general manager Craig Conroy and first-year head coach Ryan Huska.

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Boston Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk is a healthy scratch Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings as punishment for being late to a team meeting, head coach Jim Montgomery announced.

DeBrusk is coming off his best season in which he tallied 27 goals and 23 assists in 64 games, but he's been held off the scoresheet in three games in 2023-24.

The 27-year-old is in a pivotal year, as he's set to become an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

Veteran power forward Milan Lucic skated in DeBrusk's place at left wing on the top line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak during Saturday's morning skate. Journeyman Patrick Brown appears poised to make his season debut on the fourth line.

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The Nashville Predators announced Saturday they've claimed forward Liam Foudy off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus selected Foudy 18th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft, but he hasn't lived up to his first-round billing. He's tallied seven goals and 12 assists in 90 career NHL games across parts of five seasons.

Foudy brings a terrific combination of size and speed. He's 6-foot-2 and one of the sport's best skaters, but it hasn't translated to strong on-ice results.

The London Knights product will be reunited with his former OHL teammate, Luke Evangelista, in Nashville.

Foudy is in the final year of his contract with a $762,500 cap hit. He'll be a restricted free agent at season's end and is under team control until 2027.

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Calgary Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson will have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety for elbowing/charging Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine on Friday.

Andersson received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for the hit, which occurred in the waning seconds of Columbus' 3-1 victory.

Laine didn't travel with the Blue Jackets for Saturday's contest against the Minnesota Wild and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The winger-turned-center has tallied a goal and an assist in four games thus far.

Andersson has never been suspended in his eight-year NHL career, although he was fined in 2021-22 for head-butting Kailer Yamamoto. He's recorded three points in five games this season while averaging a team-high 23:39.

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson had no inclination that he was going to be bought out by the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason.

"I was surprised," Ekman-Larsson told The Athletic's Thomas Drance. "We had exit meetings, and I didn't see it coming."

Ekman-Larsson had four years left on his contract with an $8.25-million cap hit, resulting in the largest compliance buyout in the salary-cap era in terms of total value. The Canucks are paying him $17 million over the next eight years to play elsewhere, per CapFriendly.

The veteran blue-liner inked a one-year, $2.25-million pact with the Florida Panthers as a free agent in the offseason.

Ekman-Larsson was one of the game's top defensemen during his 11 seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, receiving downballot Norris Trophy votes on five occasions. He was traded to Vancouver in 2021, but his two-year stint with the Canucks was marred by injuries and inconsistent play.

"Look, we loved living in Vancouver and I loved playing for the Canucks," Ekman-Larsson said. "So it was disappointing. Obviously there were a couple of tough years, but I don't feel like it was all bad like everybody else does.

"There were ups and downs and we didn't make the playoffs, we were struggling as a team, there were a lot of changes. It wasn't easy, but I don't have a bad thing to say about the city of Vancouver or the organization. It's just part of the business. You get disappointed when things like that happen and you're not ready for it."

Ekman-Larsson is thriving with his new team. He's recorded two points in four games, and, with Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour out to begin the year, OEL is logging huge minutes, averaging a team-high 25:31 per contest.

The Canucks and Panthers square off in Sunrise on Saturday. Ekman-Larsson will make his return to Vancouver on Dec. 14.

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Alex DeBrincat has never been booed before in his life, but he expects that to change when the Detroit Red Wings visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon.

"If that's what they need to do, that's fine," DeBrincat told The Athletic's Ian Mendes. "They are just passionate fans in Ottawa. And they just want what's best for their team."

The Senators acquired DeBrincat in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2022 offseason. Almost exactly a year afterward, Ottawa flipped him to the Red Wings.

"I never asked for a trade," DeBrincat said. "I said I wasn't going to sign long term. And they took that as writing on the wall."

DeBrincat was a restricted free agent this past summer, but he could've accepted his one-year qualifying offer and walked to unrestricted free agency in 2024 - a risk the Sens weren't willing to take.

The 5-foot-8 sniper endured a down season by his standards in his lone year in Canada's capital. The two-time 40-goal scorer tallied 27 goals, 39 assists, and a minus-31 rating during his time there. It didn't help that the team missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year despite entering the campaign with high expectations that were raised by DeBrincat's acquisition.

Additionally, a report surfaced in September that DeBrincat, a left winger, was unhappy playing behind team captain Brady Tkachuk on Ottawa's depth chart. DeBrincat denied the rumor.

"Through the trade process, a lot of things that were put out there were not necessarily what was actually going on behind closed doors," he explained.

DeBrincat believes his departure has worked out as well as possible for everyone involved. For the Farmington Hills, Michigan, native, he received a chance to go home and play for his boyhood team. The Red Wings are off to a 3-1-0 start and DeBrincat has been an offensive catalyst, producing five goals and three helpers.

"I had to do what was best for my family," DeBrincat said. "And I think a lot of people in the same situation would have done the same thing."

The Senators are making out fine without DeBrincat, as they're also 3-1-0 to start the year. However, forward Dominik Kubalik - the key player Ottawa received in exchange for DeBrincat - has yet to record a point.

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine seems to be lacking confidence at the moment.

Although he's produced a goal and an assist in three games, Laine says he feels as though he's struggling in the early going. He gave himself a harsh self-evaluation on Thursday.

"Pretty awful so far," Laine said, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda. "Can't hit the net if my life depends on it, can't make any plays, can't win a faceoff. Just basically can't do anything right now."

Laine has only fired eight shots on goal, 2.67 per game, below his career average of 2.92. His on-ice expected goals share of 47.43% is below average, but it's also fifth-best on the Blue Jackets, per Natural Stat Trick. His average ice time is also down from 19:07 last season to 16:23 in 2023-24.

After spending the first seven years of his career as a winger, Laine is playing center this season, and it's been a learning curve. He's won just 42.1% of his faceoffs and owns a minus-three rating on the season.

But Laine says hard work is the formula to get back on track.

"I'm gonna keep working, gonna keep building, try to fix all this, and try to get back to the level I need to be at," he said.

Laine is currently centering a line with Adam Fantilli and Alexandre Texier after beginning the year playing with Johnny Gaudreau.

The 2016 No. 2 pick was the Calder Trophy runner-up after scoring 36 goals in his rookie season. He potted a career-high 44 goals in his sophomore campaign, but he hasn't surpassed the 30-goal mark since. He tallied 22 goals and 30 assists in 55 games with the Blue Jackets last season.

The Blue Jackets acquired Laine in a January 2021 trade with the Jets that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Winnipeg.

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