New Jersey Devils’ Report Cards: Evgenii Dadonov

Dadonov only played in 24 games and scored one goal. In the Devils’ first game of the season, he only played 9:32 and had to exit the game early after taking a shot to the hand. Following the incident, he was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) within the same week. 

He missed 17 games and returned to the ice on Nov. 18. He only got to play in four games before ultimately falling to injury again. This time, it was his wrist. He remained out of the lineup to recover until Jan. 11. He played in 12 games leading up to the 2026 Olympic break.

On March 5, Dadonov was placed on waivers. He cleared and then played three days later on March 8. He was a healthy scratch for the majority of the month, but played on March 26 and 28, where he scored his first goal of the season. He played in four more games to close out the season, March 29, 31, April 2, and 14. 

Impact With the Devils 

Dadonov’s impact was not as palpable as one might have thought it would have been once the Devils signed him. When he did get to play, Dadonov was playing in the bottom six. His impact was more along the lines of eating away minutes on the ice to get the top six players back into playing shape. 

Dadonov was not a point producer for New Jersey. He had a strong performance with the Dallas Stars the season before, recording 40 points in 80 games. He is clearly capable of producing points; perhaps New Jersey just wasn’t the right fit for him.

Future With New Jersey 

Dadonov’s one-year contract has come to an end. The Devils will have to choose whether or not to re-sign him or to let him walk into free agency. After a weak performance that was plagued by injuries, it is in the Devils’ best interest to let him walk. 

Dadonov is also 37, a veteran player who was clearly more prone to injury this season. The Devils need a veteran presence in the bottom six, but they can’t have a player who only played a quarter of the season due to injury. The last thing anyone wants to see is a player on their team injured in any capacity. It will be interesting to see what Sunny Mehta decides to do now that he is the general manager of the Devils. 

Overall Grade 

Overall, Dadonov receives a D. Unfortunately, a lot of the issues were out of his control. He was injured for the majority of the season and didn’t get to play as much. When he did play, he was great at eating up minutes in the bottom six to give the top six players a chance to rest and recover to get back out on the ice. 

Dadonov only scored one goal in his 24 games with the Devils, which isn’t the most impressive stat line. It would not be surprising if this were Dadonov’s first and final season with New Jersey.