Veteran winger Evgenii Dadonov proved to be a valuable addition for the Stars at the 2022 trade deadline, adding another offensive threat to a deep roster. He made a good enough impression to land a two-year, $4.5MM extension a few days before free agency opened up last year.
As he’s now in the final year of that agreement, Dadonov is now technically extension-eligible. However, it doesn’t appear as if he’s interested in holding any extension talks, telling Sport-Express’ Mikhail Skryl that he wants to wait and see what happens after the season.
The 35-year-old wasn’t quite as impactful offensively as he was when he was first acquired. He missed 31 games due to a lower-body injury; his 51 games played were his lowest since the 2011-12 campaign. Nevertheless, Dadonov was still a capable secondary contributor, notching 12 goals and 11 assists while logging a little over 13 minutes a night in what was a largely bottom-six role. He chipped in with seven points in 19 playoff appearances before Dallas was eliminated in the Western Conference Final.
At this point, it’s likely that Dadonov will be deployed in a similar role in 2024-25 with the Stars returning the bulk of their forward group from the playoffs. Accordingly, he could be in line for more limited playing time once again compared to what he played with Florida, Ottawa, and Vegas in recent years.
To that end, Dadonov didn’t rule out the possibility of returning to Russia after this coming season. Going back overseas is something he’s already done once as he left for the KHL in 2012, only returning in 2017. Finishing up his career back home in a role he’s more accustomed to could certainly be tempting. At this point, Dadonov would only say that he expects to field both NHL and KHL interest next summer but it appears the prospect of leaving the NHL is already on his mind.