The NHL voided the trade between Vegas and Anaheim that would’ve sent Golden Knights forward Evgenii Dadonov and a second-round pick to the Ducks in exchange for Ryan Kesler’s contract and defenseman John Moore, the league announced Wednesday.
The trade was agreed upon moments before the trade deadline on Monday, and was initially processed by the league as a legal trade. But shortly after the deal was completed, the league became aware of Dadonov’s 10-team no-trade list, which included Anaheim.
After nearly two days of deliberation between the NHL and NHLPA, they decided to reverse the trade, sending Dadonov back to Vegas.
“The trade could not be concluded because Dadonov’s contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with,” the NHL said in a statement.
The reversal places the Golden Knights in a precarious position, as the trade was intended as a salary dump for the cap-strapped club. Vegas has more than $15 million in cap space currently on long-term injured reserve between Mark Stone and Alec Martinez, and needed additional space to activate either of those players if they become available in the regular season. This trade would’ve shed $3.375 million from Vegas’ books.
The Ducks will miss out on adding Dadonov to their lineup. After trading several players away at the deadline Anaheim had plenty of cap space to take advantage of Vegas’ cap troubles, and was hoping to add another draft pick to its cupboard in the process. Dadonov would’ve given the Ducks a capable scorer for the top-six, with another year left on his contract.
(Photo: Darcy Finley / NHLI via Getty Images)
