Dadonov provides much-needed depth scoring to New Jersey Devils

The Devils lacked speed and scoring depth a season ago. Dadonov will help change that.

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The New Jersey Devils brought two new forwards into the fold on the opening day of free agency, signing veterans Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov.

I already posted my in-depth analysis of the Brown signing and what he’ll bring to the team, from how he’ll diversify the offense to exceptional penalty killing impacts.

Now it’s Dadonov’s turn.

Adding layers to the offense

I can’t overstate how bad the Devils were offensively in the second half of the season; and not just by the standards of a playoff team. They were bad by the standards of any team. The offense looked completely lifeless and the numbers were just as ugly.

From January 1st through the end of the regular season, the Devils held the following ranks in these 5v5 categories:

Expected goals per 60: 28th

Shots on goal per 60: 29th

High-danger chances per 60: 29th

Goals per 60: 30th

A lack of competent depth was a big reason why. The stars up front had little to no help and a poor transition game led to very few easy opportunities for anybody. Dadonov, like Brown, can help.

The veteran winger is coming off a rock solid offensive campaign for a loaded Dallas Stars team. He produced 20 goals, 20 assists, and 40 points while averaging just 13.5 minutes per game. Clearly, Dadonov was efficient with his ice time.

He averaged 0.80 goals per 60 minutes of 5v5 play, putting him on level pegging with Bo Horvat, Timo Meier, and Sam Bennett.

He produced 1.65 points per 60, an identical rate to that of Meier and Evgeni Malkin; and more than notables like Mathew Barzal, Brad Marchand, and Kevin Fiala.

Dadonov also contributed nicely on Dallas’ 2nd power play unit, ranking 4th among all Stars players in points per 60 while up a man.

He will add some reliable depth scoring to a team that had next to none of it for more than half the season.

For perspective, no bottom-6 player on the Devils produced more than eight 5v5 points in 2025. Eight.

Dadonov had 18 over that same span. That’s more than double what any of the Devils depth players produced and would’ve tied him with Jesper Bratt for top spot.

Diversifying the attack, 2.0