Evgenii Dadonov

BIOGRAPHY

Evgenii Dadonov was born March 12, 1989, in Chelyabinsk, Russian. He is a forward in the NHL.

Dadonov scored his first NHL goal on 15 December 2010 against Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes. In January 2011 Dadonov was selected to participate in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition as one of 12 rookies.

In the 2011–12 season, the last year of his entry-level contract, after failing to gain a regular position into the Panthers line-up on 18 January 2012, Dadonov was traded, along with A.J. Jenks, by the Panthers to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Jonathan Matsumoto and Mattias Lindstrom. Dadonov was assigned to the Hurricanes' affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers where he played the remainder of the season out.

Having evolved and matured his game over the previous five seasons spent in the KHL, Dadonov opted to pursue a return for a second attempt in the NHL. With his rights having expired from the Hurricanes, Dadonov returned to his original club, the Florida Panthers, in agreeing to a three-year, $12 million contract on 1 July 2017.

After three productive seasons with the Panthers, Dadonov left the club as a free agent, to sign a three-year, $15 million contract with the Ottawa Senators on 15 October 2020. Dadonov saw his production drop in his first season after signing with the Senators compared to his time in Florida, putting up 20 points in 55 games, under half a point-per-game average. He only spent the 2020–21 season with the Senators before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights during the subsequent offseason.

After a disappointing first season with the Senators, Dadonov was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nick Holden and a 2022 3rd-round draft pick on 28 July 2021. The Golden Knights attempted to trade both Dadonov and a conditional second-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for John Moore and Ryan Kesler at the NHL trade deadline on 21 March 2022, in order to alleviate salary cap constraints caused by the acquisition of star forward Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres. The deal immediately came into question due to a no-trade clause in Dadonov's contract. A report the same day stated the Golden Knights claimed the Senators did not inform them of the no-trade clause, and the NHL's central registry processed the trade before Dadonov disputed its validity. On 23 March, the trade was officially voided. The controversy lead to the NHL announcing plans to change how no-trade clauses were handled in the future.

Dadonov's profile was elevated as a result of the events, and days after the resolution he scored the overtime-winning goal in a March 26 game against the Chicago Blackhawks, receiving strong applause from the audience. The final two months of the season were Dadonov's strongest, and he finished with 20 goals and 23 assists. It was widely expected, however, that the Golden Knights would again attempt to trade Dadonov in the offseason.

Following the Golden Knights missing the post-season for the first time in franchise history, Dadonov was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Shea Weber on 16 June 2022.