ANAHEIM — The NHL on Wednesday invalidated the trade between the Ducks and the Golden Knights that it had approved before Monday’s deadline, which means sending Evgenii Dadonov and a conditional second-round draft pick back to Vegas and John Moore and Ryan Kesler back to Anaheim.
The league announced in a two-sentence statement that “the trade could not be concluded because Dadonov’s contract includes a limited no-trade clause, which has not been complied with.” It didn’t explain how or why it had approved the deal in the first place, however.
The Ducks were among 10 teams listed in a no-trade clause included in the three-season, $15-million contract Dadonov signed with the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 15, 2020. When he was traded to the Golden Knights on July 28, 2021, Vegas reportedly believed the clause had either expired or was voided.
Vegas and the league then proceeded with Monday’s trade. However, a 10-second search of the website capfriendly.com, which is not affiliated with the league, would have revealed Dadonov’s no-trade clause, although it does not indicate which 10 teams are listed on it.
By trading Dadonov and acquiring Kesler’s contract, the Golden Knights would have escaped salary-cap issues in order to activate several injured players. Shedding Dadonov’s contract would have enabled them to be under the cap and also enabled them to shift Kesler to long-term injured reserve.
Kesler, who hasn’t played since 2018-19 because of a career-ending hip injury, would have given Vegas further cap relief when placed on LTIR. Moore, likewise, is injured and could be placed on LTIR or be sent to the AHL for the remainder of this season. Kesler’s contract ends when the season ends.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek wanted Dadonov to play among the team’s top-six forwards and he also coveted an additional draft pick for either 2023 or ‘24. As an added bonus, Verbeek would have been happy to shed the remainder of Kesler’s $6.875-million salary for the rest of this season.
“We respect and accept the decision made today by the NHL with regard to our trade with Vegas on Monday,” Vebeek said in a statement. “Evgenii Dadonov is a player we thought could help our team this year and beyond. We will move forward and welcome John Moore to our organization once he’s healthy and ready to return.”
PROSPECT WATCH
Olen Zellweger, an 18-year-old defenseman who was the Ducks’ second-round pick (34th overall) last year, was named the junior-level Western Hockey League’s player of the week after he had eight assists in four games with the Everett (Washington) Silvertips.
Drew Helleson, a 20-year-old defenseman acquired last week from the Colorado Avalanche, made his debut Tuesday with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL and had one shot on goal and a minus-1 defensive rating in a 3-1 victory over the Henderson (Nevada) Silver Knights.
Jacob Perreault, a 19-year-old right wing, scored two goals in the Gulls’ fifth victory in their past six games and their eighth in the past 12. Perreault has scored four of his 12 goals this season in the past 12 games. Overall, he has 12 goals and 18 assists in 45 games in 2021-22.
ADMISSION UPDATE
Starting on April 1, fans attending the Ducks’ final five regular-season games at Honda Center will not have to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test to enter the arena. The change was made with the guidance of the California Department of Public Health.