Evgenii Dadonov Trade is an Ugly One for Ducks, Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights traded forward Evgenii Dadonov on Monday…maybe.

Dadonov was supposed to be on his way to California to join the Anaheim Ducks, but the trade has been halted, and the NHL is reviewing the deal. Apparently, the Ducks were on Dadonov’s no-trade list, but the list may not have been submitted on time, which he is disputing.

It seems that no matter what the outcome is, someone botched a pretty routine portion of this transaction. Either Dadonov and his team failed to submit the list of teams to which he did not want to be traded, or the Golden Knights managed to overlook the fact that Anaheim was on that list.

The other possibility, based on the newest bit of information that has been introduced to this situation, is that the Ottawa Senators were potentially the party responsible for the issue. It has been suggested that Dadonov submitted his list to the Sens and that that information was not relayed to Vegas when he was acquired last summer.

The Evgenii Dadonov trade is getting messy.

Now, one of two things will happen once this is sorted out: Dadonov will be playing for a team that doesn’t want him, or he’ll be playing for a team with which he does not want to play. Either way, it’s not a great position to be in.

What makes the whole situation worse is that it’s sort of an odd trade in the first place. For the Ducks, yes, they get a second-round pick as part of the trade, but I doubt that the 33-year-old Dadonov is a part of the future in Anaheim.

As for the Golden Knights, if this was meant to be a salary dump, then why acquire John Moore in the deal? Further, why would that money not be used to add a player that could aid the team’s bid to make another deep playoff run?

On top of those questions, I have to ask, why did Vegas not acquire goaltending help? Robin Lehner’s availability is uncertain, and the Golden Knights are slumping as a result. Nothing was done at the deadline to solve that problem, including this trade that may or may not happen.

Time will tell whether the Dadonov trade will be upheld, but in the meantime, the whole situation is a mess for those involved.