New Jersey Devils Sign Evgenii Dadonov to Bonus-Laden One-Year, $1M Contract

Just as the Free Agency Frenzy coverage wrapped up, the Devils announced their own signing in Dadonov.

I did not see this one coming.

The New Jersey Devils have announced, at 4:56 PM today, that they have signed veteran winger Evgenii Dadonov to a one-year, $1 million contract with performance bonuses. Coming off a 20-goal, 20-assist season, Dadonov will provide more legitimacy and scoring to the Devils’ bottom six. While he is 36 years old, Dadonov can still provide a lot of the skill and playmaking that was missing from that group last season.

Much Needed Offense

The New Jersey Devils struggled to find goal scoring beyond their big names last season, and Dadonov is another step in the right direction. Getting him at this price point is key, as I had not even considered Dadonov an option because I assumed he would seek out a little more of a payday than what he got from Fitzgerald and company. On the other hand, as a player over the age of 35, he can make some of that back via performance bonuses, which would likely carry over as a 2026-27 cap penalty if he were to reach them this season.

Evolving-Hockey

As you can see in his RAPM card from Evolving-Hockey, Dadonov will not necessarily make the team produce more shots at even strength, but he will help them convert on their scoring chances at a higher rate. In their GAR-based player cards, Dadonov was ranked in the 61st percentile of skaters in overall play and in the 66th percentile in offensive impact because he was so effective in that regard. While he is no longer a first unit mainstay on the power play, Dadonov should help the Devils’ second unit in terms of structure and shot generation, though he has been losing effectiveness there for a few years, last being a truly good PP1 option in the 2019-20 season.

In the context of their broader moves, this deal makes a lot of sense for the Devils. After signing two-way winger Connor Brown to a four-year deal earlier this afternoon, Dadonov will provide some extra scoring punch to the middle six. Now, compared to the lines I mocked up in the free agency preview, the forward lines should now look something more like this:

Meier-Hischier-Noesen
Gritsyuk-Hughes-Bratt
Dadonov-Mercer-Brown
Cotter-Glass-Palat

Extras: Lammikko, MacDermid

Of course, Dadonov is usually listed as a right winger, Cody Glass is still unsigned (hence the italics), and I grow more and more of the belief that Palat has to be moved to make the cap fit both Glass and Luke Hughes. But for now, that is a way better looking forward group than what the Devils had throughout last season, and that should be a welcome sight for Devils fans. Now with two new additions who each had more goals than several of their 2024-25 bottom six forwards combined, the Devils look like a deeper, better team than they have been since their appearance in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.

One thing to keep in mind is that Dadonov can play up and down the lineup, but probably will not log huge minutes. Over the last four seasons, he has seen his ice time go from an average of 15:49 a night, to 14:43, to 13:11, to 13:32 in 2024-25. So, I would not pencil him into your everyday top six just yet, but he absolutely will be on the ice at times with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes when the team needs a goal. Over he last two seasons, Dadonov has a 16.8 shooting percentage, with just an uncharacteristic dip in 2021-22 (11.3%) and 2022-23 (6.4%) in his career (13.6%). The Devils need shooters, and Dadonov fits the bill. He will get to the net and score.

While the team will likely have to deal with some penalty in their 2026-27 cap for Dadonov’s bonuses this year, if everything goes right, I am super happy with the deal. After this deal hits PuckPedia, their cap space should lower to $7.819 million, with Hughes and Glass still needing contracts. So, yes, there will still be movement, unless the team thinks Johnny Kovacevic really isn’t coming back from his knee injury soon after the season begins. And even then, more moves will have to be made to add another center.

Your Thoughts

What do you think of this deal? Did you have Dadonov on your radar? How do you think he will fit with the team? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.