The NHL Trade Deadline was wild, and there were a lot of moves that surprised the masses. One move that really threw people for a loop was the move to send Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks. The Knights added a 2nd-round pick to the trade and took on the salaries of Ryan Kesler and Jon Moore. They were trying to make room in terms of cap space to fit all their moves.
Just one problem. It sounds like Dadonov had the Ducks on his no-trade list. And he’s sticking to that list. A grievance with the league sounds like it’s going to end with the trade being terminated. That’s what Daily Faceoff is reporting. The NHL Trade Deadline is over, so the Knights have few options to move Dadonov.
For one, the Knights have to move Dadonov to a team that’s willing to take him for this year and next year. He’s making $5 million against the salary cap next season, and he’s making $6.5 million cash. Teams like the Arizona Coyotes are looking for players with cap hits that others are willing to give up for extra assets, but they want the contracts to deescalate. Dadonov’s deal went the other way.
The other thing the Knights have to consider is Dadonov has to allow a trade to that team. He can block trades to 10 teams, and he might just pick the 10 teams that aren’t in the playoffs. The New Jersey Devils are on that list if that’s the case. However, this list was given to the Knights when Dadonov was traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Golden Knights. Maybe the Devils aren’t on the list.
The Devils do need an extra winger next season, but ideally they’d get someone who is one of the top players on the team. It seems like Dadonov would be a repeat of what the Devils are getting from Tomas Tatar and Andreas Johnsson. They are all skilled, veteran wingers who are struggling to score this year. Here’s the difference: a desperate Golden Knights team might give up more now that they are being held over a barrel.
The New Jersey Devils should make a call to the Vegas Golden Knights about Evgenii Dadonov.
The Knights are fighting for a playoffs spot, and they need to bring people back from injury. They might not be able to if this deal doesn’t go through. It sounds like it’s getting terminated, which makes the Knights position nearly impossible. Could the Devils a 2nd and a 3rd-round pick to take this deal? Could they get the coveted 2023 1st-round pick? If they find a way to get the 2023 1st-round pick just to take on this contract, they should run to the trade call.
The Devils don’t have a ton of cap space this year since they still have to sign Pavel Zacha, Jesper Bratt and upgrade the goaltending position, but they can figure this deal out. If the asset is right, Fitzgerald can make it work. It might not even matter if Dadonov decides to go back to the KHL (although that’s unlikely with $6.5 million on the line).
Obviously, this is after the trade deadline, but the Devils could still give Dadonov a home for the future. While we’ve seen inconsistent reporting of this, Sporting News reports that a player can finish out the season with a new team if he is traded now. Others, include Elliotte Friedman and our friends at NHL Rumors Daily say that the player is ineligible to play for their new team. Maybe the NHL will provide a waiver for this since it’s a special circumstance.
This all depends on the asset that comes with Dadonov to the Devils. This is a former 25+ goal scorer. It’s still a major risk for the Devils, and the Knights are desperate to get this deal done.