Introduction

Although at a different time, free agency is fast approaching. As was explained in my Devils’ offseason guide, expect a plethora of free agency profiles of those individuals the Devils should target. That guide can be found here and my top-20 best unrestricted free agents can be found via this link.

This article will start the long series of pieces, and, of course, more will follow. The first unrestricted free agent that will be examined is Russian winger Evgenii Dadonov.

The Background

The 31-year old is a left-handed shot, but can play either wing. Dadonov made his NHL debut in the 2009-10 season and played parts of three seasons before returning to his native country and playing in the KHL. The five-foot-eleven winger came back to the NHL as a 28-year old before the 2017-18 season. Since then, he has spent all his time with the Florida Panthers.

The Statistics

Over these past three NHL seasons, he appeared in 225 games. He tallied 81 goals and 101 assists for a total of 182 points. He has had seasons of 65 points, 70 points, and 47 points. Each are great offensive outputs given the games he played in each season.

Worth noting, Dadonov’s shooting percentage is extremely high over his NHL career. His average career shooting percentage is 14.3 per cent, which many would think would regress to the league average. However, it hasn’t which just means Dadonov must be taking high-quality shots.

Looking at Dadonov’s analytics is what makes me a fan of his. He owns a Corsi For % (CF%) of 52.5 over the past three years which is readily above the league average of 50. This is even more impressive given the fact Florida has not been all that good in terms of analytics the past few years. His Corsi For Relative (CF% rel) also is great as it reads 6.3, 1.9, and 4.4 over the past three seasons. Simply put, when he is on the ice Florida is a lot better off than when he is off it.

The chart above does a really good job of bringing together and depicting how good analytically Dadonov is. In four of the five performance telling metrics on the chart, Dadonov is well above average. Looking at this data, his defensive game also checks out, something many may be surprised by when thinking of the scoring winger Evgenii Dadonov. 

Dadonov’s Goals Above Replacement (GAR) is up to par as well, as Dadonov performed well above average. In the past three seasons, his total GAR is 36.0. In comparison, teammate Mike Hoffman’s owns a 7.9, Canucks’ Tyler Toffoli an 18.0, and Devils’ Kyle Palmieri’s a 32.6. All these numbers are from the past three years, and each player has a similar number of games played.

The Contract

Evgenii Dadonov does get some respect for the excellent player he is. However, I do not think he gets all he deserves which can be a good thing for teams pursuing him this offseason.

Right now, Dobber Sports Net has Dadonov a projected $6,364,079 per year. Even more surprising, Evolving-Hockey has Dadonov at a projected six-year, $7,001,000. For me, each are too high, especially the Evolving-Hockey projection. I would expect a number closer to $6,000,000.

Now, Dadonov is 31 years old which is something of a bit concern. He should have at least three more solid years in him. With that being said, teams need to be careful with the term they offer the Russian. But, the more term the less yearly salary, and usually less term means higher average annual salary.

The ideal contract for Dadonov, which I would want the Devils to try to get him at, is around four years priced at $5,750,000 per year. Three years would be ideal, but Dadonov is probably not going to settle for that term unless the figure is upwards of $6,000,000 which I do not think he is worth.

Conclusion

Evgenii Dadonov has quickly established himself as a top-six, 60-plus point scorer the past three seasons. He would fill the gaping hole the New Jersey Devils have on the team’s right side in the top-six.

It is worth noting Dadonov did have a bit of a down year this season. He only scored on a 56-point pace in comparison to his usual 70-point pace. To give him the benefit of the doubt, this season was a bit off and the Panthers did take a surprising step back. Therefore, I urge general manager Tom Fitzgerald to pursue the versatile, top-six Russian winger come the offseason. And if he can get Dadonov at the price I listed above, to pull the trigger.