Canadiens: Biggest Disappointments of the 2022-23 Season

He may not be a Montreal Canadien anymore, but I consider Evgenii Dadonov’s play to be the biggest disappointment of the 22-23 season. The now former Hab was traded to Montreal in exchange for the unofficially retired Shea Weber. In essence, it was a low-risk, high-reward trade, but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be an element of disappointment if Dadonov struggled. And struggle he did.

Prior to his arrival in Montreal, Dadonov had scored 20 goals in four of the last five seasons, with the Covid shortened 20-21 season being the only exception. The Russian forward could score goals, but for whatever reason, that never came to fruition in Montreal. But if the Habs gave up virtually nothing to get him, what’s the harm in him not producing?

Let’s face it, the Canadiens acquired Dadonov for one reason, and one reason only, a reclamation project. They saw an opportunity to take Shea Weber’s contract and turn that into a first-round pick, with Dadonov being the crucial part of that equation. For whatever reason, the league didn’t seem to value Dadonov, despite his scoring reputation, which allowed the Canadiens to acquire him for virtually nothing. A good season in Montreal might’ve enabled them to get significant compensation at the trade deadline, potentially even a first, depending on how well he did and how the market shaped up. But as we know, that never happened.

Instead, the Canadiens were only able to get Denis Gurianov, a different struggling player, and while Gurianov showed some flash in Montreal, he likely won’t be a Hab next year. Meanwhile, Dadonov, in half the games, nearly matched his goal and point total in Dallas, showing that he does, in fact, have something left in the tank. And to add even more salt in the wound, he’s added three more goals in just five playoff games thus far, including a game-winner.

Perhaps expectations were just too high for all of the players I’ve listed, but I don’t buy that, especially in Dadonov’s case. I think Dadonov was, at times, unlucky in Montreal and probably would have scored a few more goals, but overall, I’d say his tenure was one Habs fans would like to forget.