Forward Evgenii Dadonov, still deadpan to journalists, nonetheless said he’s looking forward to joining the Dallas Stars, a formation that occupies the top of the Central section.
• Also read: Zachary Massicotte has no regrets about his fight against Arber Xhekaj
• Also read: From Kovalev to Dadonov: All or nothing with the Russian attackers at CH
News of the transaction, completed a few hours earlier, did not surprise the main prospect, who was happy to land in Dallas. His agent had informed him in the previous days that an event was brewing as he asked for his ban on movement to be lifted.
The 33-year-old hockey player, who was traded from the Montreal Canadiens for winger Denis Gurianov on Sunday, will be looking to help his new club go a long way in the playoffs. Certainly he’s now virtually eliminated the opportunity to enjoy much more collective success than within the Habs.
“I’m really excited to play here,” he told NHL.com in a relatively serious but relaxed tone ahead of Monday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. They are a good team that is always difficult to face. For me, this is a step forward and a great opportunity.”
Also, the skater had little time to mourn his departure from Quebec as he had to pack his bags quickly. Above all, he prefers to look to the future and not think about what went wrong in Montreal.
“It was difficult in terms of points scored. We had good games and bad ones, with unsuccessful consequences. But here I’m in good shape and ready to play,” he said.
A familiar face behind the bench
Dadonov finds himself in familiar country with the presence of head coach Peter DeBoer, a man who seems to hold him in high esteem. He coached him with the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights – the latter last year – and he knows what to expect.
“He’s a good instructor. He’s fair and honest with the players, telling them what’s going well,” he mused.
“I’ve known him for a long time,” DeBoer said. I’m a big fan of the player and the person. He is a regular season veteran and has never been overtaken by the course of events. He’s reliable on the ice and has proven he can score important goals in the playoffs. He is an athlete who has competed in world championships. Having a guy from that background in the dressing room is great.”
In Texas, whoever has just 18 points in 50 games wants to do better, and he’s granted a wish of becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. And the good news for him is that he’ll be in the second row of stars alongside Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment.
“I hope to be able to play on the power play. Everyone here is outstanding and I will enjoy growing with them, he said. I can play and adapt with quite a lot of players.