The New Jersey Devils announced forward Evgenii Dadonov placed on the injured reserve (IR) after suffering a hand injury during their season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dadonov played just 9:32 on Thursday night and had two shots on goal before leaving the game in the third period. After blocking a shot with his hand, he could no longer hold his stick. After further medical imaging it was confirmed that he had suffered a hand fracture. As a result, the Devils were reduced to just 11 aheadwithout an extra skater on hand for the road trip.
#NEWS: We placed F Evgenii Dadonov (hand) on injured reserve.
We have recalled F Brian Halonen from Utica (AHL). pic.twitter.com/Y7BFpDbOsm— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 12, 2025
He was absent from the lineup in Saturday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Ondrej Palat taking his place alongside Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. The team confirmed that Dadonov would be unavailable for the remainder of the Devils’ road trip, which will require further evaluation once the club returns to New Jersey.
In his place, the Devils have recalled forward Brian Halonen from the American Hockey League (AHL). Halonen spent most of last season with the Utica Comets, where he recorded 27 goals and 13 assists in 62 games. He was also called up for two NHL games in 2024-2025, where he averaged 13:54 of ice time and made two shots on goal.
Without Dadonov on the bench, the Devils will be missing a significant portion of their depth. There is currently no timeline for his return, but hopefully the veteran leader won’t be left out of the lineup for long.
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