Evgenii Dadonov has been traded. For real, this time.
Vegas made its first cap-clearing move of the summer by sending the forward to the Montreal Canadiens for the contract of injured defenseman Shea Weber.
Acquired last offseason from Ottawa, Dadonov had 43 points in 78 games with the Golden Knights. More notably, Dadonov's season was defined by a potential trade deadline move to send him to Anaheim, but the trade was reversed because Dadonov had the Ducks on his no-trade list.
Following the rescinded trade, Dadonov was a vital part to the Golden Knights' offense, putting up 19 points in 18 games, including eight goals.
Weber, the Canadiens' captain since 2018, did not play this season due to ankle, foot and knee injuries and the likelihood is that he will not play again.
Weber signed a 14-year, $110 million contract he signed with the Nashville Predators in July 2012. He was traded to Montreal in 2016 for a deal involving former Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban.
The Golden Knights confirmed Weber will remain on long-term injured reserve. Weber, a four-time All-Star, has four years remaining on his contract at $7.8 million average annual value. The deal, essentially, is to pay Weber's contract while he remains on LTIR so that Vegas can clear the remaining one year, $5 million left owed to Dadonov.
The Golden Knights now have 16 players on their roster committed for next season, but will still need to create more space with hopes of retaining unrestricted free agent forward Reilly Smith, as well as RFAs Nic Hague, Nic Roy, Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar.
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.