In the National Hockey League, the epic with the participation of Evgeny Dadonov came to an end. The Vegas Golden Knights have long wanted to get rid of the Russian: the player was on a big contract, but did not bring much benefit to the team.

However, the leadership of the Knights could not find a new club for the hockey player. Once a deal on the exchange of Dadonov fell through at the Vegas at the last moment – all because of a stupid mess with the documents. But now the Knights still found a way to shake off the Russian.

For this, the team signed … an injured veteran.

Scandal with the lost “paper”

The story of Evgeny Dadonov’s trade begins in 2020, when the Russian striker signed a three-year deal with the Ottawa Senators. This contract provided, in addition to a solid salary of $ 5 million per season, also a partial ban on the exchange. The player had the right to provide the “senators” with a list of 10 teams to which he would refuse to move.

After the first season, Ottawa traded the Russian to Vegas because of not the highest performance. At first, as part of the Knights, Evgeny also did not impress, and he was called the main candidate for an exchange in the deadline. The transition did indeed take place. On the last day before the transfer window closes, the Golden Knights management finalized a deal for Dadonov with Anaheim.

Evgeny Dadonov / Photo: © Jeff Bottari / Contributor / National Hockey League / Gettyimages.com

Evgeny was very surprised by this fact, because the club from California appeared in the “stop list” compiled by the player earlier. The management of Vegas was no less surprised: no one informed the Knights about the existence of this list.

After a short trial, it turned out that the Ottawa employees responsible for the document flow forgot to transfer the corresponding document to Vegas. The deal was canceled, and Dadonov continued to perform in the US gambling capital.

Exchanged for decommissioned hockey player

After the end of the season, it became clear to most that Evgeny would definitely not spend the last year under his contract in Vegas. The Knights were in dire need of unloading the payroll in order to meet the salary cap.

Given the “exclusion list” and Dadonov’s $5 million contract, it was not easy for Vegas to find a new club for the player. After going through all the possible options, the “knights” settled on a very unexpected option. They traded Dadonov to Montreal for… Shea Weber. The catch is that the Canadian contract is almost three million more expensive than the Russian one, and will be valid until 2026! However, for those who follow the NHL, it will not be difficult to guess the meaning of such a transfer.

Photo: © Mike Carlson / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The former captain of the Khabs, although he receives a monetary allowance, has not been performing for a long time. The 36-year-old defender played his last match back in 2021. Aggravated injuries simply do not allow him to go on the ice: the athlete is tormented by the joints of his left leg, ankle and knee. Until recently, a Canadian veteran even limped due to injuries!

It was this fact that attracted the attention of Vegas to the defender. According to the rules of the NHL, such a player can be placed on the long-term list of injured hockey players. This will allow his salary to not be included in the payroll. The management of the “knights” will simply continue to pay the fee to Weber, but the team will have much less problems in order to meet the ceiling.

This exchange clarifies the future of Dadonov only in part. Montreal is currently in the process of restructuring: the team is actively replenishing the roster with young players and also won the first pick in the 2022 draft. Even before the start of the regular season, the Canadiens may well exchange the hockey player for a more promising player, withholding part of the Russian salary, and receiving a pack of draft picks in addition.

Dadonov could also move to another club as the season progresses, or become a deadly tidbit if the Khabs fail to make it to the playoffs. However, all these are rather pessimistic forecasts. If Evgeny manages to prove himself in Montreal, the player’s career can take off again – he still has all the introductory for this.