Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

League invalidates Golden Knights trade of Dadonov to Ducks

Golden Knights Down Flames, 3-2

Steve Marcus

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) skates against the Calgary Flames during the third period of an NHL hockey game at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021.

The trade between the Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks that would have sent forward Evgenii Dadonov to Southern California has been reversed, the league announced today.

The transaction could not be completed because "Dadonov’s contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with," the league said in a statement.

Vegas and Anaheim agreed to a deal that sent Dadonov and a conditional second-round pick to the Ducks for injured defenseman John Moore and the contract of forward Ryan Kesler. The deal was made official by both teams four hours after the trade deadline.

The trade was submitted to NHL Central Registry prior to the noon PST deadline on Monday, but the hold-up wasn't just the amount of time before the Central Registry got to the trade.

The Ottawa Senators, who signed Dadonov to a three-year, $15 million contract on Oct. 15, 2020, included a modified no-trade clause in his contract. That gave Dadonov the opportunity to submit an annual list of 10 teams to which he would prefer not to be moved.

The Ducks were on Dadonov’s list of teams he did not want to join.

Dadonov turned in his list to Ottawa on June 30, before the July 1 deadline. Vegas acquired Dadonov from Ottawa on July 28 in exchange for a third-round pick and defenseman Nick Holden.

His no-trade list also accompanied him to Vegas, a provision that was added in the latest collective bargaining agreement from 2020.

Soon after the Golden Knights announced on Twitter that there were issues involving the transaction, reports surfaced that the Golden Knights claimed they did not receive Dadonov's no-trade list, which was submitted before the July 1 deadline.

Sportsnet reported Tuesday that the Golden Knights and NHL believed Dadonov's no-trade list was not filed correctly or had expired, but there is documentation that says it was filed before July 1.

“Evgenii Dadonov is a player we thought could help our team this year and beyond,” Ducks GM Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “We will move forward and welcome John Moore to our organization once he’s healthy and ready to return.”

Trading Dadonov to Anaheim in the agreed-upon package would have freed nearly $3.4 million in cap space, valued room that would have alleviated the burden of activating either Mark Stone or Alec Martinez from long-term injured reserve.

The expectation is that the Golden Knights will try to trade Dadonov to a team not in playoff contention. Teams can make trades after the deadline, but the player would not be eligible to play for the remainder of the season.

Dadonov has 27 points in 62 games this season with Vegas. Prior to being moved, he scored five goals in his last seven games.

The Golden Knights are coming off back-to-back shutout losses to Minnesota and Winnipeg. They return to T-Mobile Arena on Thursday to face the Nashville Predators.

"The Vegas Golden Knights recognize the league’s decision and welcome Evgenii back to our club," the team said in a statement.

Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.