New Jersey Devils player profile: Evgenii Dadonov

Dadonov will be relied upon to provide depth scoring for a Devils team that lacked it a year ago.

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A lack of production beyond the stars was a big problem for the New Jersey Devils last year, particularly in he second half.

They took a step toward addressing that issue when they signed Evgenii Dadonov to a one-year deal in free agency.

To get a better idea of Dadonov and what he could provide to the Devils, let’s dive into his 2024-25 campaign and the outlook for the upcoming season with New Jersey.

2024-25 review

Evgenii Dadonov is coming off a solid offensive season. He put up 20/20 while averaging ~13.5 minutes per game on a very deep Dallas Stars team.

The majority of those points came at 5v5, where Dadonov was credited with 27. That was the same total as Matty Beniers, Evgeni Malkin, and Marco Kasper.

Dadonov kept even better company in the goal scoring department. His 13 goals at 5v5 equalled Pierre-Luc Dubois, Gabe Vilardi, Seth Jarvis, Tomas Hertl, and Sebastian Aho, among others.

He scored on 12.38% of his shots during that game state. Among the seven Devils players to record 100+ shots on target at 5v5, only Nico Hischier converted at a higher rate than Dadonov.

Finishing was his bread and butter in Dallas. In fact, his shooting WAR last season was +1.0.

Brandon Hagel, Clayton Keller, Cutter Gauthier, and Filip Forsberg were among the dangerous shooters to post that exact number.

Jack Hughes and Hischier were the only two Devils players to best Dadonov’s +1.0 WAR value from shooting.

Dadonov’s offense did come at some expense of the defense, as I outlined when the Devils signed him.

Last season the Stars allowed shots, chances, and goals at higher rates – albeit not by much – with Dadonov on the ice than without. Their share of shots and chances was also a little lower during Dadonov’s minutes.

He was hardly a disaster, though, and the version of the Devils we saw in the 2nd half would no doubt happily trade a little defensive acumen for more offense.

It’s also worth noting Dadonov did have a competent post-season run. He was one of eight Stars to hold his head above water in both shot and xG share.

He also ranked 5th on the team in 5v5 points/60, albeit his efficiency numbers were not nearly as strong as in the regular season. To be expected when the game tightens up and the level of competition increases.

Overall, it was a good campaign for Dadonov. Even nearing the twilight of his career, I’m surprised he couldn’t command more on the open market.

2025-26 outlook