The Florida Panthers are expected to sign winger Evgeni Dadonov when the signing period opens up on Saturday, reports Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link). TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds via Twitter that it will be a three year contract worth $12MM.
The 28 year old Dadonov has seen his offensive production take off in recent years at the KHL level. This past season, he picked up 30 goals and 36 assists in 53 games with SKA St. Petersburg, setting career highs in both categories. He followed that up with an impressive 19 points (9-10-19) in 18 postseason contests.
Dadonov also saw plenty of international action this past season. He suited up for Team Russia at the World Cup of Hockey, collecting an assist in four games. Back in May, he was fifth in scoring for the Russians at the World Championships, tallying three goals and five assists in ten contests.
This won’t be Dadonov’s first NHL stint, nor his first time with the Panthers. He was originally drafted by Florida back in the third round (71st overall) back in 2007 and played in 55 games with the team over parts of three seasons, scoring ten goals and ten assists.
The Panthers will still have plenty of work to do to rebuild their forward unit. They’ve already lost Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault to Vegas, Jussi Jokinen was among today’s buyouts, while Thomas Vanek and Jaromir Jagr will become unrestricted free agents on Saturday. As a result, Florida is going to be a team to watch for in the coming days.
Perhaps they should make a run for Duchene and / or Landeskog.