Vegas Golden Knights

It appears that Evgenii Dadonov isn't going anywhere after all.

The NHL announced Wednesday that it has invalidated the trade that would have sent the veteran right winger from the Las Vegas Golden Knights to the Anaheim Ducks. The league cited the limited no-trade clause in Dadonov's contract, saying it "has not been complied with."

The Golden Knights released a statement after the trade was voided, saying, "The Vegas Golden Knights recognize the league's decision and welcome Evgenii back to our club."

Anaheim also issued a statement on the ruling:

pic.twitter.com/HebQmDgszj

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) March 23, 2022

The Ducks had a deal in place to acquire Dadonov and a conditional second-round draft pick from the Golden Knights in exchange for defenseman John Moore and the contract of forward Ryan Kesler.

According to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Vegas announced just a few hours after the trade was completed that it had "become aware of an issue with respect to the trade. We have been consulting with the league office."

Wyshynski noted that Anaheim is on a 10-team no-trade list that Dadonov submitted after signing his contract with the Ottawa Senators in October 2020. But when the Golden Knights traded for him last July, the team was not made aware of the trade protection in Dadonov's deal.

Dadonov has recorded 27 points in 62 games this season. Vegas attempted to move him as a way to shed some salary, as the 33-year-old counts for a $5 million cap hit in the second year of his three-year deal.

The Golden Knights (34-28) will be looking to end a two-game skid when they return to action Thursday against the Nashville Predators.

While the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks agreed to a trade involving Evgenii Dadonov ahead of Monday's deadline, the deal appears to be up in the air after the forward's 10-team no-trade clause wasn't officially submitted, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1506088499006656513

However, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Dadonov "was/is under the belief his 10-team no-trade list was submitted at its designated time, with the Ducks on it."

The Golden Knights also released a statement saying they were aware of an issue with the Dadonov trade and have been in contact with the league office.

We have become aware of an issue with respect to the trade. We have been consulting with the league office. We will provide further information once it becomes available. #VegasBorn

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 22, 2022

The NHL Players' Association is investigating the situation, per Darren Dreger of TSN:

The NHLPA is in contact with the league and further investigating the Dadonov trade. https://t.co/s3kwTPlvo0

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 22, 2022

The Golden Knights traded Dadonov and a conditional second-round pick to the Ducks in exchange for defenseman John Moore, the contract of retired forward Ryan Kesler and a second-round pick in either 2023 or 2024.

As The Athletic's Jesse Granger notes, this is a difficult situation for Dadonov, who has one year remaining on a three-year, $15 million deal, to deal with. However, he also notes the veteran might not have a choice in where he goes, and it could come down to a league decision.

By the way, I don't mean that Dadonov will necessarily get to choose. It may just come down to how the league rules it.

I just mean these are the possible outcomes for him. "Options" might not have been the best word of choice.

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) March 22, 2022

Dadonov, 33, was selected in the third round of the 2007 NHL draft by the Florida Panthers. He spent six seasons with the franchise before joining the Ottawa Senators for the 2020-21 season.

The Russian forward was then traded to the Golden Knights in July 2021. He has underperformed since arriving in Vegas, tallying 15 goals and 12 assists in 62 games.

Dadonov has tallied 119 goals and 130 assists in 397 games. While he's certainly past his prime, the winger can still be a solid depth contributor, though he might have fit better on a Stanley Cup contending team.

If the deal falls through, Dadonov will return to the Golden Knights for the remainder of the season. However, he could be traded over the summer, especially leading up to the draft.

The Marc-Andre Fleury era in Chicago was short-lived and shortsighted.

It probably shouldn't have even happened, but for some reason, former general manager Stan Bowman decided to go for it this season. The Vegas Golden Knights, in need of salary cap space, dealt the 2021 Vezina Trophy winner to Chicago over the summer.

Chicago then traded Fleury on Monday morning—the biggest deal of the trade deadline—to the Minnesota Wild for a conditional second-round pick in the 2022 draft that will become a first-round pick if the Wild reach the Western Conference Finals and Fleury wins at least four games in the first two rounds. The Blackhawks retained 50 percent of his salary. 

Fleury helped bail out a defense that didn't give him much help and played a leadership role in the locker room that the consummate pro has always excelled at. The 37-year-old put up good, but maybe not great numbers this season, going 19-21-5 with a .908 save percentage. 

Despite his initial hesitation to play in Chicago, he was hesitant to move again after his family had settled in the area and grown to enjoy it. He used his no-trade clause to leverage a move to a contender, which is where he belonged from the start.

The big winner here is Fleury, who is now in a position to win his fourth Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, Minnesota might have one of the more enviable goaltending situations in the league at a time when many of the contenders are facing questions in net. Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen were fine, but fine isn't what a team needs when chasing a Stanley Cup.

The two combined for a .908 save percentage, which was toward the bottom of the league. From February 16 to March 13, the Wild went 4-9-1 and allowed 65 goals.

While his underlying metrics have been good, Kahkonen, still only 25, hasn't had a win in nearly a month. He's gone 0-5-1 in that span and allowed 21 goals (.873 save percentage). That was enough for general manager Bill Guerin to look for an upgrade.

He flipped Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks shortly after he acquired his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate in Fleury. Now, the tandem in St. Paul is Fleury and Talbot.

While Talbot has been solid for the Wild this year, even earning an All-Star nod, there have been questions about whether or not he is a goalie who can take a team deep into the postseason.

Maybe he will be, but the pressure is off of him to do all the heavy lifting. Coach Dean Evason can use a 1-A and 1-B system to split their starts and keep the duo fresh down the stretch, a luxury many teams in playoff positions do not have.

Guerin insists that Talbot does not feel slighted by the move, telling reporters that they had been in communication throughout the process and lauding the goalie's professionalism. 

"There's no room for petty bulls--t," the general manager said. "We're on a team together, and we're trying to we're trying to win, and Cam is an unbelievable teammate, so I know he's going to be awesome."

The Toronto Maple Leafs had reportedly flirted with the idea of adding Fleury, and a public spat between Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson and Toronto GM Kyle Dubas confirmed as much. The Washington Capitals had been eyeing Fleury all season, with subpar goaltending being the team's biggest weakness. 

If anyone knows how important trade deadline acquisitions are, it's Guerin, who was one himself in 2009 when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. And if anyone knows what Fleury is like at his best, it's Guerin. 

The Wild may not have been on his list initially, but upon landing in Minnesota on Monday night, he told reporters that the fans and the atmosphere at Xcel Energy Center had helped change his mind. The Blackhawks played in Minnesota on Saturday, and as Fleury sat on the visitors' bench, he liked what he saw and said they look like a playoff team.

Spring is here and the Flowers are suddenly in full bloom 🌸 #mnwild pic.twitter.com/nElfSsn40M

— x - Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 21, 2022

The club also added forwards Tyson Jost and Nicolas Deslauriers last week and defenseman Jacob Middleton in the Kahkonen deal. These were savvy moves that should help with the overall roster depth during the postseason. The Wild are deeper, tougher and better able to go to battle in a long series against a team like Colorado.

"I was a little worried about chemistry and things like that because it's gone really well this year," Guerin said, "but when the players that we acquired became available, they can all help our team, and I'm so confident in the group that we already have, that they'll welcome these guys with open arms."

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights visit the Wild on Monday night. Fleury is not slated to start, but his presence still rubs salt in the wound for a team that has not cruised through the season as it was expected to

Vegas won the Jack Eichel sweepstakes, but other injuries have hamstrung the team this season and left them chasing the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers and even the rebuilding Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division.

The goalie the Knights chose over Fleury? He's hurt too. Robin Lehner has been battling a lower-body injury all season. 

It's an unfortunate reminder of the turn of events from last summer for Vegas, but Fleury and his new team are happy to reap the benefits.

Former Sabres star Jack Eichel returned to Buffalo on Thursday for the first time since being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, and he was booed relentlessly by fans of the home team every time he touched the puck. 

Loud boos every time Eichel touches the puck. pic.twitter.com/CJ41ap3fN2

— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) March 11, 2022

While speaking with reporters after the game, a 3-1 loss for the Golden Knights, Eichel didn't hold back in sharing his thoughts about the crowd booing him. 

"That's the loudest I've heard this place, ever," Eichel said. "It only took 7 years and me leaving for them to get into it. ... They must just be booing me because they wish I was still here, I don't know. It is what it is. I mean, I'm not the first player to deal with it."

Before Thursday's game, Eichel admitted to reporters his departure from the Sabres wasn't pretty. However, he hoped fans would appreciate the effort he made both on and off the ice for the six seasons he was in Buffalo:

“I think about my time in Buffalo, it obviously ended a little messy. But I hope (fans) can look past some of the things that happened maybe in the last year and think about the previous five-and-a-half, six years that I was there, and everything that I tried to do for the community, everything that I feel like I put forth on the ice as a hockey player, and know I just tried to do as much as I could for the city.”

Fans definitely showed a lack of appreciation for their former captain Thursday night. But as Eichel noted, he's not the first player to receive boos in a return to his former home. Take Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons, for example. He was also booed heavily in his return to Philadelphia on Thursday night even though he didn't take the court. 

Following a tribute video, @BuffaloSabres fans welcome back Jack Eichel to KeyBank Center with a mix of boos and cheers. pic.twitter.com/DGvsdj4Czh

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 11, 2022

The Sabres traded Eichel to the Golden Knights in November amid a dispute on how to handle the herniated disk in his neck. Buffalo wanted him to have neck fusion surgery to repair the issue, while his doctor recommended artificial disk replacement surgery. 

Before Eichel underwent the procedure, an artificial disk replacement surgery had never been performed on an NHL player. 

The Sabres drafted Eichel second overall in 2015 with the hopes that he would one day help them contend for a Stanley Cup. That plan didn't work out, as the franchise never made the postseason during his tenure. 

Despite the lack of success, Eichel was one of the most dominant offensive players in the NHL during his time in Buffalo, tallying 139 goals and 216 assists (355 points) in 375 games. He's just now beginning to reassert his dominance in Las Vegas. 

In 11 games with the Golden Knights, Eichel has three goals and four assists for seven points. As he continues to get more comfortable in the desert, his numbers should only improve moving forward. 

The Golden Knights are third in the Pacific Division with a 32-23-4 record. They have made the playoffs in each of their first four NHL seasons and hope to do so again this year with Eichel on board. 

The already star-studded Vegas Golden Knights will get a boost Wednesday when one of the NHL's most exciting players makes his highly anticipated return to the ice.

Jack Eichel will debut for his new team Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena, general manager Kelly McCrimmon announced Monday, via ESPN's Emily Kaplan.

"I always had the date circled for a while; I just had to go through all the protocols," Eichel said. "I just feel like I'm back at that point where I'm ready to play. I just want to get back in there and get the confidence back in playing a game."

Eichel has not played since March 7, when he was a member of the Buffalo Sabres. He was traded in November and underwent artificial disk replacement surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck.

The 25-year-old had been at odds with the Sabres, who wanted him to have neck fusion surgery instead.

The Sabres drafted Eichel second overall in 2015, and he quickly made a name for himself after a collegiate career at Boston University. The Massachusetts native tallied 139 goals and 216 assists in 375 games across six seasons.

According to Kaplan, Eichel practiced Monday on Vegas' first line with Max Pacioretty.

Eichel could help the Golden Knights (59 points in 48 games) separate themselves from the Calgary Flames (58 in 45), Los Angeles Kings (55 in 47) and Anaheim Ducks (55 in 49) in the Pacific Division. 

Vegas is 28-17-3 after a 6-0 loss at the Flames on Wednesday. Jonathan Marchessault leads the team with 20 goals, and Chandler Stephenson has 38 points. 

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand was placed in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol Tuesday.

Marchand joins Bruins forward Craig Smith in protocols.

The Bruins are set to host the Las Vegas Golden Knights later Tuesday night. Marchand's and Smith's placement in the protocols comes three days after Boston visited the Calgary Flames, who had six players and a staff member placed in protocols Monday. The NHL postponed Calgary's next three games. 

A player must sit out 10 days or provide two negative tests 24 hours apart in order to be cleared for a return to game action.

Marchand has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 21 games this season. 

Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel underwent disk replacement surgery on Friday and is expected to make a full recovery, the team announced.

The Golden Knights said the surgery was successful and they will provide additional details on Eichel's timetable to return "when appropriate."

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski reported Thursday that Eichel was expected to have surgery at the Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic and would remain in Denver for three weeks for observation before doing most of his rehab in Vegas.

Wyshynski adds that Eichel's expected recovery timeline is three months, which would mean he could return as soon as mid-February. 

Eichel, who was traded to Vegas from the Buffalo Sabres last week, thanked the Golden Knights on Monday for allowing him to undergo the procedure that caused a rift between himself and his former team. The Sabres wanted Eichel to undergo neck fusion surgery, while the star forward wanted the disk replacement procedure. 

The 25-year-old added that he hopes the NHL and NHLPA will reconsider their regulations on allowing teams to have full control over a player's medical treatment, per Sportsnet.

"I think my situation shined light on maybe some things that could be changed, and I hope that they are in the future," Eichel said. "I don't necessarily agree with the team having the full say in what to do with medical treatment. I think it should be a collaboration."

Eichel was introduced as a Golden Knight for the first time before Tuesday's game against the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena. He is expected to serve as the team's top center when he returns from injury. 

JACK EICHEL IN THE FORTRESS!!! #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/0vQrMsBod6

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 10, 2021

Did we do it again?

Yes, we DID do it again 😆

Welcome home, @jackeichel 🤩#VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/EQxhPt7pGr

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 7, 2021

The Boston University product spent six seasons with the Sabres after being drafted second overall in 2015. However, he has not played since March 7 because of his neck injury. 

Eichel signed an eight-year, $80 million contract extension with Buffalo before the 2017-18 season. He won't become a free agent until after the 2025-26 campaign.  

It's nothing personal. It's just business.

The Buffalo Sabres have been trying to peddle that narrative all summer with regard to star center Jack Eichel. The player who was supposed to get them over the rebuilding hump languished on bad Buffalo teams for six seasons, with the final being shortened not just by the COVID-19 pandemic but also a herniated disk in his neck.

The Sabres wanted him to have a surgery standard for NHL players, a disk fusion. Eichel and his representatives sought other opinions and decided on a different course, an artificial disk replacement surgery.

The NHL's collective bargaining agreement gives the team the authority to make the decision for the player, yet Buffalo allowed the situation devolved into an ugly spectacle, which is why it's difficult to believe that this stalemate was not, in fact, personal.

If it wasn't personal, then why are the Vegas Golden Knights, who acquired him Thursday, allowing him to have artificial disk replacement surgery? Why did the Sabres strip him of his captaincy? Why did this drag into the start of the 2021-22 season?

Buffalo might have been understandably hesitant about allowing the most important player in the lineup to have a procedure that has never been performed on an active NHL player before, but the two sides were never going to come to any sort of agreement. 

🚨 OFFICIAL 🚨

The Golden Knights have acquired Jack Eichel and a conditional pick from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and two conditional picks.

JACK EICHEL IS A GOLDEN KNIGHT!!! #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/T8hLG2BcZI

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 4, 2021

The Golden Knights pushed in all their chips to acquire the center, sending injured forward Alex Tuch (shoulder), 2019 first-round draft pick Peyton Krebs and conditional draft picks in 2022 and 2023 to the Sabres for the game-breaking center and a 2023 third-round pick.

"Why wouldn't his people want what's best for him?" Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said in a video press conference following the trade announcement. "None of us in this room have the level of expertise that would be required for an opinion. I defer to the people that he's entrusted himself and his health to, to make that decision and will obviously have a hand in next steps, rehabilitation, return to play, you know, those types of things.

"But the decision of the surgery is one that we respectfully defer to Jack and his representatives."

McCrimmon acknowledged this is a new procedure for the NHL, but it's not a new surgery for athletes in contact sports. Dr. Chad Prusmack on Elliotte Friedman's 31 Thoughts podcast said Eichel could be in line to play within six to 12 weeks after having surgery.

It's a procedure that mixed martial arts fighters and rugby players have had. McCrimmon, in making a business decision to send a key member of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final team and a top prospect to Buffalo, took a more personal approach to Eichel.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams, in his own video conference, had some empty platitudes about caring for Eichel as a person, but that stands in stark contrast to how the organization has handled Eichel's health over the past six months.

The winner in this is Eichel himself. Not because he's going to a winning team—although that is a check in the victory column as well—but because he gets to have his preferred procedure and get rid of the pain he has endured since early March when the injury occurred in a game against the New York Rangers.

"Vegas baby, Vegas," he tweeted to his 28,000 followers after the deal.

This ends a very bitter, very public dispute between a player who once signified hope for a beleaguered Buffalo franchise and the organization that drafted him with the second pick in 2015. The Sabres will continue their rebuild and do so with a top-six winger in Tuch and a burgeoning playmaking center in Krebs, Eichel's replacement up the middle.

The Sabres weren't willing to budge on what they wanted in return, and Adams said retaining some of Eichel's $10 million salary was a non-starter given the length of the pact (Eichel is under contract through 2025-26). He didn't see cap space as something he could weaponize. Adams wanted picks, prospects and an established NHL player.

"What I can tell you is, we got to a point where this was the offer that we felt was the strongest that we had up to this date, and we felt very good about it," Adams said. "We worked extremely hard for months and months. And we were not going to compromise on what we felt we needed as a return. This was a really important decision for us. So however long it was going to take, it was going to take."

Now the attention turns to Vegas, a team with Stanley Cup aspirations in a tenuous spot. Putting Eichel on a line between Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty might give the Golden Knights one of the best lines in the NHL. No offense to the Perfection Line in Boston, but David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron would have some competition if this line comes together.

When the @GoldenKnights get healthy, watch out. 👀 pic.twitter.com/eeZb0fvkwX

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 4, 2021

However, Stone and Pacioretty are also on long-term injured reserve with lower-body injuries. The timeline for Eichel is somewhat unknown. McCrimmon said he is still unsure of when Eichel might be ready to play again, with an optimistic estimate of three to four months and a conservative estimate of four to five.

McCrimmon said Eichel has been training on the ice with no contact, so post-surgery he could be cleared to get back on the ice in six to eight weeks with no contact and able to skate with contact around week 12.

"It's really challenging to give you a time frame because it's never been done in this sport," McCrimmon said. "I'm told that Jack has been able to be quite active in terms of training while he's injured, even being on the ice. It's contact that he would not be cleared to endure.

"I keep thinking four to five months, three to four months. We don't know. We really don't know, and I'm not trying to suggest that we do know, but that might be the best guess I can give you right now."

The Golden Knights have to get to the playoffs without their top players. So far, that looks like it will be a struggle. They're 4-5-0 to open the season and second-to-last in the Pacific Division.

While Vegas is confident Eichel will return to full form, McCrimmon acknowledged this put the team in a tough position against the cap and that some of these injured players might not be what they once were.

From your constant support at @RoswellPark and across our community, to the memories made on the ice, Buffalo thanks you, @jackeichel. pic.twitter.com/45bhJSODmg

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) November 4, 2021

"It's an ongoing dance that capologists around the National Hockey League have to be adept at," he said. "As we speak, we've got in excess of $30 million that's either on long-term injury or eligible to be on long-term injury. That takes any immediate pressure off of our salary cap.

"You do have to ask yourself what happens if we return to full health, and yet sometimes you never return to full health."

If the Golden Knights do not, in fact, return to full health, then the fall could be hard. They have traded all four of the players they've selected in the first round. They have made big-money acquisitions, such as signing Alex Pietrangelo. And while this gives them one of the best teams in the NHL on paper, the farm system that was built from the ground up has been decimated.

McCrimmon put Eichel in the same category as Pietrangelo, a player Vegas signed for his Stanley Cup-caliber leadership. Eichel has never participated in a playoff game but is regarded as one of the league's elite centers. So if this works, it will be worth it.

"We weren't in the market elsewhere for centers. This was interest that was solely determined by the quality of the player that was available," McCrimmon said. "I believe if you look at Stanley Cup champions, an elite center is certainly a big, big part of that."

As with all things Las Vegas, it isn't personal—it's a gamble.

Jack Eichel is on the move to the Vegas Golden Knights, but he won't see the ice for several months because of surgery on his herniated disk.

Per TSN's Darren Dreger, Eichel is expected to have disk replacement surgery "very soon," with the hope being that he can return to the ice in four months.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported early Thursday morning that the Buffalo Sabres were trading Eichel to the Golden Knights.

According to Dreger, the full deal, pending the trade call with the NHL, is Eichel and a 2023 third-round draft pick to Vegas for Peyton Krebs, Alex Tuch, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2023 third-rounder.

Eichel and the Sabres have been at odds for several months about the type of surgical procedure he should undergo.

Dr. Chad J. Prusmack, Eichel's personal doctor, told Sportsnet's 31 Thoughts podcast in July that artificial disk replacement surgery was best way to proceed for the forward's short- and long-term health.

Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News noted that type of procedure has never been done on an NHL player and that the Sabres were pushing for the more common anterior cervical discectomy with fusion surgery.

Friedman reported in October that Eichel was considering filing a grievance through the NHL Players' Association in an attempt to force a resolution to the situation.

Eichel’s agents, Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli, issued a statement over the summer announcing that Eichel had formally requested a trade out of Buffalo.

"As previously stated, we fully anticipated a trade by the start of the NHL free-agency period,” the statement read. "After the agreed-upon and prescribed period for conservative rehabilitation lapsed in early June 2021, it was determined by the Sabres medical staff that a surgical process was required."

Around the same time, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters the team didn't "feel any pressure" to make a trade just for the sake of it.

Eichel has spent his entire career with the Sabres since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2015. The 25-year-old still has five years, including the 2021-22 season, remaining on his eight-year, $80 million contract.

Because of the herniated disk, Eichel only played in 21 games last season. He has 355 points in 375 NHL games over six seasons.

A four-month recovery period would put Eichel on track to return in March. The regular season is scheduled to conclude April 29.