The NHL has officially invalidated the Evgenii Dadonov trade between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks from Monday. In a statement, the league explained:
The trade could not be concluded because Dadonov’s contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with.
Dadonov now remains on the Golden Knights’ roster, while John Moore and Ryan Kesler are still part of the Ducks.
The invalidated trade, which would have seen the Golden Knights clear enough cap space to activate at least Alec Martinez from long-term injured reserve when he is ready to return, now raises plenty of questions about what comes next for Vegas. To clarify, the team is still able to trade Dadonov to another team not on his no-trade list, but he would then be ineligible to play again for the rest of the season and playoffs unless the NHL made an exemption in this case. The Arizona Coyotes were discussed as a potential landing spot on today’s 32 Thoughts podcast between Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman, though it is unclear at this point whether the two sides would be able to reach a deal.
Even if they do, Dadonov, through no fault of his own, is now in a very tricky situation. The Golden Knights were obviously ready to move on from him–the trade was originally confirmed by the league, making him a Duck for a short time–but if he now goes somewhere else he’ll miss a chance to play for the rest of this year. He would still collect his owed salary, and be able to play next season on his current contract which extends through 2022-23.
It also is a tough blow for Anaheim, who had not only grabbed a useful forward but cleared two contracts that weren’t helping them and added a conditional second-round draft pick. It looked like a big win for the Ducks, who have made out with a huge haul of future assets at the deadline by trading off several expiring contracts of their own.
The biggest question among the entire situation is how the NHL Central Registry approved the trade in the first place. Friedman tweeted yesterday that the league and Golden Knights were “led to believe” that Dadonov’s no-trade list had expired in some fashion, though there then turned up proof that he had submitted it on time.
For the Golden Knights, CapFriendly breaks down the situation. With Dadonov back on the roster, they would now need to clear $4.84MM in order to activate Martinez, and a total of $9.1MM to activate captain Mark Stone. Again, any player traded after the deadline is ineligible for not just the playoffs, but the rest of the regular season as well.
Vegas is a mess this year. Goodbye playoffs!
I could see them being ineligible for the playoffs but the rest of the season is pretty harsh.
Why is that harsh? The trade deadline rules are very clear and vegas tried to circumvent that, whether they were “led to believe” something or not. Surely they could have verified the information somehow,but instead they tried to make a move that violated a contract. Now they get to be screwed cap wise.
If Evgenii and his agent are smart, they have known the implications since this first happened and have known that he had 3 possible outcomes:
Continue playing on his contract in Vegas, or some other team not on his NTC list
Waive his NTC and accept a trade to a team he doesn’t want to play for or,
Potentially (but extremely unlikely) get traded after the deadline and get paid his full salary to watch hockey from his couch.
Either way appears to be fine with him.
A player traded AFTER the deadline can’t be allowed to have impact on the remaining games and thus the standings (affecting playoff spots and positioning).
lel. Good.
Hahaha
Catastrophic L
Clearly the NHL has a bias against Vegas because they want to see them fail.
How do you figure that?
Clearly no they’re not lol. They stuck by the players side by honoring his valid NTC! That has nothing to do with Vegas lol.
That comment seems more like a personal bias FOR Vegas.
All the NHL has done is enforce a contract that Vegas entered into. They haven’t even mentioned imposing any type of punishment.
It would be like if you stole money and got caught, but all that happened was you were forced to give the money back and werent even arrested for it, would that mean that the legal system is out to get you? I don’t think so.
I think it’s more likely that Vegas just isn’t a very well run team.
You guys are kinda slow.
Dadonov should be allowed to play if he is moved. This isn’t his fault. He did everything he was supposed to do. Ottawa failed to inform Vegas & the NHL that the list existed. This is on Ottawa & the NHL. Dadonov should not be punished for their mistakes
This isn’t entirely accurate. Dadonov’s Limited no-trade was always a part of his contract. It’s Vegas’s job to know thoroughly each of their players contracts. Vegas F’ed up with their lack of due diligence. I feel zero sympathy for that team.
Usually players have an option to waive no-trade clauses. I assume Dadonov declined to do so. If so, he’s not totally blameless. But if he preferred staying in Vegas then that’s his prerogative.
Not totally blameless? I fail to see what you could blame him for. He had Anaheim on his no trade list, per his contract. Period. End of story. This is egg on the face of Vegas’ front office, plain and simple. Know your contracts, make decisions accordingly. I agree with taco guy; zero sympathy.
Now Vegas can waive someone and watch them walk away for free. That’s what you get for being ignorant.
M34 well put and well said I hope they don’t make the playoffs either
You can find fault in both Vegas and Ottawa, but if the NHL signed off on this, could you really blame either team?
link to giphy.com
Doh!
Looks great on Vegas. Bunch of special educated staff. LOL
Vegas looking like Wile E. Coyote right about now. :D
Ahahahahahahaha
How is that Eichle trade looking Vegas?