The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) is now speaking with the NHL and investigating a trade between the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights that took place during Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline. Evgenii Dadonov was moved as part of a deal that sent himself and a second-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for defenceman John Moore and Ryan Kesler’s contract. The problem is, Dadonov is claiming he had a valid no-trade list that included the Ducks.
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According to multiple sources, including Darren Dreger of TSN, the trade came in just ahead of the deadline but there were no conditions submitted by either team. Apparently, neither the Golden Knights, nor the Ducks knew that Dadonov had a no-trade list that included Anaheim, the Golden Knights even claiming that one was never presented to them when they acquired the winger from the Ottawa Senators in a separate trade last summer.
Dadonov is contesting the trade and is adamant his no-trade list was filed and is valid. Whether it was just that he didn’t want to go to Anaheim or that he’s not keen on leaving the tax-free Golden Knights organization isn’t clear but he’s contesting the deal and now the league is looking into it.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that no decision has been made by the NHL and they are still investigating the matter. There’s a good chance the trade will be voided.
What Did Vegas Actually Know?
There are some wild conspiracy theories going around as to the level the Golden Knights might have known about the no-trade. It wouldn’t have been hard to find out that Dadonov had a no-trade as part of his deal and that the agent wasn’t asked or the team didn’t further look into it has some people wondering if the Golden Knights tried to pull off a deal they knew they probably shouldn’t have.
The questions about salary cap and how tight the Golden Knights are to it make it seem like things aren’t entirely on the up and up.
Elliotte Friedman reports, “Latest on Dadonov: Somehow, on trade call from Ottawa to Vegas (a team Dadonov could not block), Golden Knights and NHL were led to believe protection had expired/not filed properly. But, there is correspondence proving no-trade paperwork filed correctly (and on-time) June 30.” He adds, “So we will see how this is adjudicated. Feel for Dadonov, who did nothing wrong here and is caught in tough spot.”
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