Devils sign winger Evgenii Dadonov to one-year contract

A third-round pick (No. 71 overall) of the Florida Panthers all the way back in 2007, Dadonov has enjoyed a long and varied hockey career that has taken him across North America and back and forth from his native Russia.

After emerging with his hometown KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk as a teenager, Dadonov first made his way stateside in 2009 and appeared in 55 games with the Panthers over parts of three seasons from 2009-10 to 2011-12, collecting 10 goals and 20 points.

But after struggling to lock down a full-time NHL role with the Panthers, Dadonov returned to the KHL with Donbass HC in 2012 and established himself as a full-fledged star in that league over the next five seasons, naturally attracting more NHL interest in the process.

Dadonov elected to return to the Panthers in 2017 and has never looked back since. He posted three consecutive 25-goal seasons with the Panthers to kick off his second tour of duty in the NHL before bouncing around between the Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, and Montreal Canadiens — and nearly the Anaheim Ducks, too — during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After being sent by Montreal to Dallas at the 2023 trade deadline, Dadonov reinvented himself as a bottom-six forward on a deep Stars team that reached the Western Conference Final in all three of his seasons with them. Of Dadonov’s 55 career playoff games, 51 of them have been with the Stars.

Through 617 career NHL games over parts of 11 seasons with the Panthers, Senators, Golden Knights, Canadiens, and Stars, Dadonov has collected 163 goals and 361 points. He’s added 22 points in his 55 playoff contests.