Evgenii Dadonov
Dadonov with the Florida Panthers in 2011
Born (1989-03-12) 12 March 1989 (age 35)
Chelyabinsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 5 ft 10.5 in (179 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Dallas Stars
Traktor Chelyabinsk
Florida Panthers
Donbass Donetsk
SKA Saint Petersburg
Ottawa Senators
Vegas Golden Knights
Montreal Canadiens
National team  Russia
NHL Draft 71st overall, 2007
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2006–present

Yevgeny Anatolyevich Dadonov (Russian: Евгений Анатольевич Дадонов; born 12 March 1989) is a Russian professional ice hockey player for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in two stints for the Florida Panthers where he was originally selected 71st overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, as well as the Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

Dadonov played for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the Russian Super League and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was drafted 71st overall by the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and joined the team in 2009, playing a season with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans.[1]

North America

Dadonov was recalled by the Panthers and made his NHL debut on 6 April 2010 in a 5–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, though the coach, Peter DeBoer praised his play after the game.[2] He played four games with the Panthers during the 2009–10 season. Returning to Rochester the following season, he was recalled on 7 December 2010 to replace an injured Radek Dvořák.[3] Dadonov scored his first NHL goal on 15 December 2010 against Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes.[4] In January 2011 Dadonov was selected to participate in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition as one of 12 rookies.[5]

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. He played 15 games with the Panthers that year, tallying two goals and three points and nine points in 20 games with the Panthers AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.[6] Dadonov was assigned to the Hurricanes' affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers where he played the remainder of the season out.[7]

Donbass

On 7 July 2012, Dadonov left the Hurricanes and North America to return to the KHL with Donbass. In December 2013 he signed a three-year extension with the club, and expressed interest in acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.[8] With Donbass, Dadonov won the 2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup, and became the second scoring leader of the tournament.[9] In the 2013–14 KHL season Dadonov helped Donbass reach the Conference Semifinals.

SKA Saint Petersburg

With HC Donbass suspending operations due to the outbreak of War in Donbass Dadonov signed a multi-year contract with KHL club SKA Saint Petersburg on 11 June 2014.[10] In 2015, Dadonov played a vital role in helping SKA Saint Petersburg to win the Gagarin Cup for the first time. When team captain Ilya Kovalchuk was named Most Valuable Player of the season, he refused to accept it and instead passed the award on to Dadonov.[11] In a later interview, Kovalchuk said that he felt Dadonov deserved the award more.[12] At the end of the season, the KHL named Dadonov one of the two winners of the "Gentleman on Ice" award for his fair play and sportsmanship.[13]

Return to Florida Panthers

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.[14] In his final year with the Panthers, he scored 25 goals and 47 points in 69 games but had a disappointing record in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, only registering one point as the Panthers were bounced by the New York Islanders in the first round.[15]

Ottawa Senators

After three productive seasons with the Panthers, Dadonov left the club as an unrestricted free agent, to sign a three-year, $15 million contract with the Ottawa Senators on 15 October 2020.[15] 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 off-season.[16]

Vegas Golden Knights

After a disappointing first season with the Senators, Dadonov was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Nick Holden and a 2022 third-round draft pick on 28 July 2021.[16] He was acquired by the Golden Knights to provide depth scoring and as a backup should the Golden Knights need to move larger contracts to get under the salary cap.[17]

During the 2021–22 season, 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.[18] The deal immediately came into question due to a no-trade clause in Dadonov's contract.[19] 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.[20] On 23 March, the trade was officially voided.[21] The controversy led to the NHL announcing plans to change how no-trade clauses were handled in the future.[22]

Dadonov's profile was elevated as a result of the events, and days after the resolution he scored the overtime-winning goal in a 26 March game against the Chicago Blackhawks, receiving strong applause from the audience.[23] 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.[24][18]

Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars

Following the Golden Knights missing the postseason for the first time in franchise history, Dadonov was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Shea Weber on 16 June 2022.[25] In the final year of his contract, Dadonov began the 2022–23 season in a top-six offensive role. However, he was unable to replicate his previous offensive totals. In 50 regular season games, he registered only 4 goals and 18 points.[26]

On 26 February 2023, Dadonov was traded by the Canadiens, with half his salary retained, to the Dallas Stars in exchange for fellow struggling Russian, Denis Gurianov.[26] Dadonov scored in his debut with the Stars, a 5–4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.[27] He finished the season with Dallas appearing in 23 games scoring 3 goals and 15 points. In the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Dadonov elevated his play, registering 10 points in 16 games and helping Dallas get all the way to the Western Conference Finals before being eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, Vegas Golden Knights.[28]

On 27 June 2023, Dadonov signed a two-year contract extension with the Stars worth $4.5 million.[29]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Traktor–2 Chelyabinsk RUS.3 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2005–06 Traktor–2 Chelyabinsk RUS.3 20 6 6 12 2 — — — — —
2005–06 Traktor Chelyabinsk RUS.2 — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
2006–07 Traktor Chelyabinsk RSL 24 1 1 2 8 — — — — —
2006–07 Traktor–2 Chelyabinsk RUS.3 4 2 0 2 14 — — — — —
2007–08 Traktor Chelyabinsk RSL 43 7 13 20 20 2 0 0 0 0
2007–08 Traktor–2 Chelyabinsk RUS.3 12 4 7 11 32 — — — — —
2008–09 Traktor Chelyabinsk KHL 40 11 4 15 8 3 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Rochester Americans AHL 76 17 23 40 36 7 0 1 1 0
2009–10 Florida Panthers NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2010–11 Rochester Americans AHL 24 8 8 16 4 — — — — —
2010–11 Florida Panthers NHL 36 8 9 17 14 — — — — —
2011–12 San Antonio Rampage AHL 20 5 4 9 4 — — — — —
2011–12 Florida Panthers NHL 15 2 1 3 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Charlotte Checkers AHL 35 3 16 19 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Donbass Donetsk KHL 52 14 23 37 12 — — — — —
2013–14 Donbass Donetsk KHL 54 15 14 29 24 13 7 4 11 4
2014–15 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 53 19 27 46 10 22 15 5 20 8
2015–16 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 59 23 23 46 4 15 3 6 9 2
2016–17 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 53 30 36 66 39 18 9 10 19 2
2017–18 Florida Panthers NHL 74 28 37 65 8 — — — — —
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 82 28 42 70 8 — — — — —
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 69 25 22 47 10 4 0 1 1 2
2020–21 Ottawa Senators NHL 55 13 7 20 4 — — — — —
2021–22 Vegas Golden Knights NHL 78 20 23 43 18 — — — — —
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 4 14 18 16 — — — — —
2022–23 Dallas Stars NHL 23 3 12 15 2 16 4 6 10 2
KHL totals 311 112 128 240 97 71 34 26 60 18
NHL totals 486 131 167 298 82 20 4 7 11 4
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Russia
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Belarus
Silver medal – second place 2015 Czech Republic
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Russia
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Germany/France
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Slovakia
World Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Czech Republic
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Canada
IIHF World U18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2007 Finland

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Russia U18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 4 4 2 6 0
2007 Russia U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 2 2 4 2
2008 Russia WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 4
2009 Russia WJC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 2 5 7 2
2014 Russia WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 10 0 2 2 0
2015 Russia WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 4 7 11 2
2016 Russia WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 6 7 13 6
2016 Russia WCH 4th 4 0 1 1 0
2017 Russia WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 3 5 8 0
2018 Russia WC 6th 8 2 5 7 2
2019 Russia WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 7 4 11 0
Junior totals 21 4 7 11 8
Senior totals 62 22 31 53 10

Awards and honors

Award Year
KHL
All-Star Game 2013*
Gagarin Cup 2015, 2017 [30]
Gentleman Award 2015

References

  1. ^ Kennedy, Ryan (21 December 2018). "Evgenii Dadonov has been excellent in his second crack at the NHL". The Hockey News. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Lackluster Panthers fall to Senators". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Panthers recall Evgeny Dadonov as Radek Dvorak goes on IR". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Canes rally for 4-3 win over Panthers". News Observer. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  5. ^ Lozo, Dave (11 January 2011). "Breaking down All-Star roster by the numbers". NHL.com. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  6. ^ "Panthers trade Dadonov, Jenks to Hurricanes for Lindstrom". TSN. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Senators sign forward Evgenii Dadonov to 3-year, $15M contract". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Evgenii Dadonov agrees to contract extension". HC Donbass. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  9. ^ "IIHF Intercontinental Cup Super Final Group F : Scoring Leaders" (PDF). IIHF. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Evgenii Dadonov has become a SKA player". SKA Saint Petersburg. 11 June 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Kovalchuk passes off award". sports.ru.com. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  12. ^ "Dadonov the real winner". sports.ru (in Russian). 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Dadonov picks up KHL accolade". sports.ru (in Russian). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  14. ^ Fialkov, Harvey (1 July 2017). "Tallon believes Panthers got tougher and quicker with free agent pickups". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Senators sign Dadonov to three-year deal". TSN. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Senators trade Evgenii Dadonov to Golden Knights for Nick Holden, draft pick". Sportsnet. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  17. ^ Schoen, David (29 July 2021). "New Golden Knights forward makes most of 2nd stint in NHL". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  18. ^ a b Pankiw, Colton (3 June 2022). "4 Golden Knights Who Likely Won't Return for 2022-23 Season". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Golden Knights trade forward Evgenii Dadonov to Ducks". Sportsnet. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  20. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (21 March 2022). "NHL reviewing Vegas Golden Knights-Anaheim Ducks deal due to Evgenii Dadonov's no-trade clause, sources say". ESPN. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Dadonov trade to Ducks by Golden Knights invalidated by NHL". NHL.com. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  22. ^ "NHL to push for NTC submission changes after Dadonov debacle". TSN. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  23. ^ Krepps, Owen (25 May 2022). "Golden Knights Fans Share Their Favorite Moments From The 21-22 Season". Vegas Hockey Now. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  24. ^ Urtz Jr., Tom (27 May 2022). "2021-22 Player Review: Evgenii Dadonov's Wild Ride May Have Been One and Done for Golden Knights". Knights on Ice. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Canadiens trade Weber's contract to Golden Knights for Dadonov". TSN. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Stars acquire forward Evgenii Dadonov in exchange for Denis Gurianov". Dallas Stars. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  27. ^ Coyle, R. J. (27 February 2023). "Watch: Stars' new trade aquisition [sic] Evgenii Dadonov scores in debut with team". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  28. ^ "Dadonov signs 2-year deal with Dallas Stars instead of becoming a free agent". NBC 5 Dallas-Forth Worth. Associated Press. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Stars sign forward Evgenii Dadonov to two-year contract extension". Dallas Stars. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  30. ^ "Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 SKA St. Petersburg 5". Kontinental Hockey League. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.

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