Evgenii Dadonov no hard feelings with Golden Knights, plus Brett Howden out of hospital
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL Trade Deadline was an eventful one for a number of teams. However, no one was more embarrassed after having the NHL void out a trade that involved Evgenii Dadonov to the Anaheim Ducks.
Apparently, Vegas’ attempt to unload the 33 year-old’s $5M cap hit in order to make way for the inevitable return for players on LTIR hit a snide. Dadonov has a no-move clause and the Ducks were on his list.
Evgenii Dadonov: “Nothing I could do”
Evgenii Dadonov, who saw his salary-dump trade to Anaheim on Monday nixed by the NHL because it violated the limited no-trade clause in Dadonov’s contract, decided to rejoin the salary-cap strapped Golden Knights.
“I would say it was a stressful couple of days,” Dadonov said. “Nothing I could do. I was just waiting on the decision.”
Dadonov received a huge ovation from the sellout crowd of 18,021 when it was announced he would be starting the game.
“I felt the support from the fans,” Dadonov said. “It probably pumped me up even more. I’ve always liked playing here, even when I was in Florida. I think they’re the best fans in the league.”
Dadonov had a goal and an assist in the Golden Knights 6-1 win over the Predators on Thursday night.
“How he handled the situation, how [the fans] handled the situation, couldn’t have been done better,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “We needed him out there tonight. He was a big help for us.”
NHL.com
Brett Howden out of hospital; Max Pacioretty setback
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer said after practice on Friday that center Brett Howden, who was stretchered off the ice in the first period after crashing into the boards head-first on a Filip Forsberg check, was at the facility and out of the hospital but would probably be out “for a while.”
“I thought liberty was taken. He was in a vulnerable position and I thought he got driven into the boards from behind in a dangerous spot,” DeBoer said after the game via Sportsnet. “My initial concern was obviously about our player. It was a really dangerous hit, and anytime you see someone get stretchered off your concern is there.”
Left wing Max Pacioretty, expected to return to the lineup as soon as Saturday, suffered a setback during the workout and DeBoer said he won’t be available “in the near future.”
-Field Level Media contributed to this report