Golden Knights trade Evgenii Dadonov to Montreal for Shea Weber

The Golden Knights get Dadonov’s $5 million cap hit off the books.

The Vegas Golden Knights have traded forward Evgenii Dadonov to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Shea Weber, the club announced Thursday.

Weber has four years remaining on his contract, which carries an AAV of $7.86 million. The Golden Knights confirmed that the 36-year-old will remain on injured reserve, making this a pure salary dump for Vegas. Weber missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to lower-body injuries and is unlikely to play again.

This marks the end of the Dadonov saga in Vegas.

The Golden Knights infamously tried to trade Dadonov to Anaheim at the deadline, but the move was invalidated due to a violation of Dadonov’s no-trade clause.

Dadonov appeared in 78 games for the Golden Knights and was particularly clutch when he returned to the lineup following the trade debacle.

He finished the season with 20 goals and 43 points, including five power-play goals and four game-winning goals. He has 124 goals and 265 points in 413 career games with Florida, Ottawa and Vegas.

Dadonov has one year remaining on his contract; the trade allows Vegas to shed his $5 million cap hit without sacrificing a draft pick in the process. It is likely the first of several cap-clearing moves the Golden Knights will make this summer.

Weber, originally drafted in the second round (No. 49) by the Predators in 2003, has collected 224 goals and 589 points in 1,038 career contests with Nashville and Montreal, serving as team captain on both teams. The bruising right-shot defenseman helped lead Montreal to a Stanley Cup appearance in 2021, defeating Vegas in six games along the way.