Evgenii Dadonov
Yevgeny Dadonov | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 12, 1989 Chelyabinsk, Russia |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey winger |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Known for | Playing in the NHL for New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars; KHL career with Traktor Chelyabinsk, Donbass, SKA Saint Petersburg |
Yevgeny Anatolyevich Dadonov (; born March 12, 1989) is a professional ice hockey winger from Russia currently playing for the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL). Selected 71st overall by the Florida Panthers during the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Dadonov has also competed for the Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens, and Dallas Stars.
Playing career
Dadonov launched his professional journey with Traktor Chelyabinsk in both the Russian Super League and later the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Following his 2007 draft by Florida, he joined their system in 2009, spending a season with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
North America
He made his NHL debut on April 6, 2010, suited up for the Panthers. After appearing in four games during the 2009–10 campaign, he was reassigned to Rochester. Called up again in December 2010, Dadonov netted his first NHL goal on December 15 against the Carolina Hurricanes. In January 2011, he was among twelve rookies invited to take part in the NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition.
In the 2011–12 season, after limited NHL ice time, Florida traded Dadonov along with A.J. Jenks to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Jonathan Matsumoto and Mattias Lindstrom. That season, he played 15 games for Florida, tallying two goals and three points, while also contributing nine points over 20 games with their AHL team, the San Antonio Rampage. He concluded that season with Carolina’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
Donbass
On July 7, 2012, Dadonov departed from North America and the Hurricanes organization to rejoin the KHL by signing with Donbass. In December 2013, he extended his contract for three more years and indicated interest in obtaining Ukrainian citizenship. During his tenure with Donbass, Dadonov helped secure the 2012–13 IIHF Continental Cup title and ranked as the tournament’s second-highest scorer. In the subsequent 2013–14 KHL season, he played a significant role in guiding Donbass to the Conference Semifinals.
SKA Saint Petersburg
Following HC Donbass’s suspension of operations amid the War in Donbas (2014–2022), Dadonov inked a multi-year deal with KHL powerhouse SKA Saint Petersburg on June 11, 2014. His contributions were pivotal in SKA capturing their inaugural Gagarin Cup championship in 2015. Notably, team captain Ilya Kovalchuk declined the season MVP honor and instead awarded it to Dadonov, acknowledging his superior performance. That same season, Dadonov earned co-recognition as a recipient of the KHL’s "Gentleman on Ice" award celebrating sportsmanship and fair play.
Return to Florida Panthers
After spending five seasons competing in Russia’s top league, Dadonov returned to North America by signing a three-year contract worth $12 million with his original NHL club, the Florida Panthers, on July 1, 2017. In his final year with Florida, he recorded 25 goals and totaled 47 points over 69 regular-season games but managed just one point during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, as the Panthers were eliminated in the opening round by the New York Islanders.
Ottawa Senators
Following three successful seasons back with Florida, Dadonov agreed to a three-year deal valued at $15 million with the Ottawa Senators on October 15, 2020. His offensive output dipped during his initial season in Ottawa where he amassed only 20 points across 55 contests. He remained with Ottawa solely for the 2020–21 campaign before being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights during the subsequent offseason.
Vegas Golden Knights
On 28 July 2021, Dadonov was acquired by the Vegas Golden Knights in a trade that sent Nick Holden and a 2022 third-round draft selection to his former team. Vegas brought him in to enhance their scoring depth and to serve as a versatile component for navigating salary cap limitations.
Throughout the 2021–22 campaign, the Golden Knights sought to move Dadonov along with a conditional second-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for John Moore and Ryan Kesler at the trade deadline. This strategy aimed to ease cap pressures following the addition of star forward Jack Eichel. However, the trade collapsed because of an undisclosed no-trade clause in Dadonov’s contract, which the Senators had failed to reveal. This incident led the NHL to update its protocols regarding no-trade clauses.
In the aftermath of this trade debacle, Dadonov’s prominence grew considerably. Shortly after, he netted an overtime goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, garnering enthusiastic support from fans. He concluded the season with 20 goals and 23 assists during his most productive two-month stretch. Despite this success, it was widely anticipated that Vegas would attempt to trade him again during the offseason.
Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars
Following Vegas missing the playoffs for the first time, Dadonov was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens on 16 June 2022 in exchange for Shea Weber. Entering the final year of his contract, he began the 2022–23 season occupying a top-six scoring position but managed only 4 goals and 18 points across 50 games.
On 26 February 2023, Montreal traded Dadonov to the Dallas Stars, retaining half of his salary, in return for Russian forward Denis Gurianov. He scored in his first game with Dallas during a 5–4 defeat against the Vancouver Canucks. Dadonov wrapped up the regular season with Dallas appearing in 23 contests, tallying 3 goals and 15 points. In the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he contributed 10 points over 16 games, aiding Dallas in reaching the Western Conference Finals before being eliminated by eventual champions, the Vegas Golden Knights.
On 27 June 2023, Dadonov agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $4.5 million with Dallas. During the 2023–24 season, he participated in 50 games, registering 12 goals and 23 points before sustaining a severe fracture against Montreal on 10 February, which caused him to miss 29 games. He returned for 19 contests in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, adding three goals and seven points.
New Jersey Devils
After completing three seasons with Dallas, Dadonov signed a one-year deal valued at $1 million with the New Jersey Devils on 1 July 2025, continuing his professional career in the NHL.
Regular season and playoffs
... [Statistics continue in original format] ...| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| KHL totals | 311 | 112 | 128 | 240 | 97 | 71 | 34 | 26 | 60 | 18 | ||||
| NHL totals | 617 | 163 | 198 | 361 | 100 | 55 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 8 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Russia | U18 | Template:Bronze3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2007 | Russia | U18 | Template:Gold1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2008 | Russia | WJC | Template:Bronze3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2009 | Russia | WJC | Template:Bronze3 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Russia | WC | Template:Gold1 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Russia | WC | Template:Silver2 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Russia | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 | |
| 2016 | Russia | WCH | Fourth place | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017 | Russia | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Russia | WC | Sixth place | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Russia | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 0 | |
| Junior career totals | 21 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 | ||||
| Senior career totals | 62 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 10 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| 2013* | Participated | |
| 2014–15 KHL season (2015), 2016–17 KHL season (2017) | Champion titles | |
| 2015 | Received for sportsmanship |
External links
- Evgeny Dadonov profile on RussianProspects.com
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1989 births
- Living people
- Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players
- Dallas Stars players
- HC Donbass players
- Ice hockey people from Chelyabinsk
- Florida Panthers draft picks
- Florida Panthers players
- Montreal Canadiens players
- New Jersey Devils players
- Ottawa Senators players
- Rochester Americans players
- Russian expatriate ice hockey people
- Russian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Russian ice hockey right wingers
- San Antonio Rampage players
- SKA Saint Petersburg players
- Traktor Chelyabinsk players
- Vegas Golden Knights players