Golden Knights’ trade with Ducks might fall through

The Golden Knights planned for a quiet trade deadline Monday with one move to shed salary cap space on their agenda.

But nothing has been straightforward in the Knights’ fifth season. Not even a simple cost-cutting move.

About two hours after announcing a deal that sent underachieving forward Evgenii Dadonov to Anaheim, the Knights’ organization released a statement confirming that there was an issue with the trade and it was in consultation with the NHL.

Along with Dadonov, the Knights were set to include a conditional second-round draft pick in 2024 for defenseman John Moore and the contract of injured forward Ryan Kesler.

The move was expected to provide the Knights additional salary cap flexibility, as general manager Kelly McCrimmon said he expected injured forward Mark Stone, defenseman Alec Martinez and goaltender Robin Lehner to return during the regular season.

The holdup is believed to involve Dadonov’s 10-team, no-trade clause in his contract.

“The rationale behind the move is a number of fronts,” McCrimmon said before the trade was disputed. “It’s the ability to make a move that’s going to help us manage our salary cap for the remainder of this season, but, just as importantly, it also gives us a lot more flexibility heading into the offseason.”

Dadonov was required to submit his no-trade list by July 1 while he was a member of the Ottawa Senators. The Knights acquired Dadonov for defenseman Nick Holden and a 2022 third-round draft pick July 28.

It’s not clear who is responsible for the error with Dadonov’s list, which included Anaheim. It could have been submitted late, or the problem might stem from whether the list was disclosed when he was traded from the Senators to the Knights.

A person familiar with the situation told the Review-Journal the NHL Players’ Association is in communication with the league regarding this matter. A resolution could come Tuesday.

Dadonov has one more year left on his contract at $5 million and disappointed despite a recent hot streak that saw him score five times in the past seven games. He produced 15 goals and 27 points in 62 appearances and didn’t score from Jan. 20 to March 6.

“Evgenii played well with our team,” McCrimmon said. “He added offense to our team, and I believe he’ll be a good player at his next stop in Anaheim. Again, the motivation behind the deal is the fact we have made some of the moves we made during the season.”

The Knights acquired center Jack Eichel, who carries a $10 million salary cap hit, in November and needed additional cap space.

Moore has been sidelined with a concussion since Jan. 12 and carries a cap hit of $2.75 million. McCrimmon said Moore is expected to remain at his home in Boston while he recovers and is a candidate to move to long-term injured reserve if the Knights need the cap space.

Kesler ($6.875 million cap hit) hasn’t played since 2019 because of hip injuries. His deal expires after this season.

If the trade for Dadonov goes through, the Knights are projected to have almost $7 million in salary cap space with more than $11.2 million used in long-term injured reserve, according to CapFriendly.com.

That would allow the Knights to activate Stone ($9.5 million) or Martinez ($5.25 million) off long-term injured reserve when they are healthy. McCrimmon added he expects Lehner to return “very soon” and was not looking at acquiring goaltending help.

Wingers Max Pacioretty and Reilly Smith remain on injured reserve along with defenseman Brayden McNabb. Smith will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, and the Knights could have room to re-sign the alternate captain if Dadonov is moved.

“With respect to our locker room makeup, good health is what we’re hoping for in terms of how our team improves,” McCrimmon said. “When we look at the makeup of our roster, we feel real good about the makeup and feel good about the forward positions, the defense position, the goaltending position.

“Making moves to add to any of those three positions was never really a consideration.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.