Ryan Kesler loses in the voided Dadonov trade in Vegas

VOIDED.

The NHL announced on Wednesday that the league had officially voided the trade that would have sent Vegas Golden Knights forward Evgenii Dadonov and a second-round draft pick to Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman John Moore and the contract of Ryan Kesler, putting an end to the proposed deal that was originally reported on Monday.

This was a huge blow to the Golden Knights, who are already struggling to stay under the salary cap. Vegas currently sits with $15 million in salary on long-term injured reserve, the $2.25 million in cap space they would have cleared by trading Dadonov for Moore, and the $6.75 million of Kesler’s contract they could have placed on LTIR would have allowed them to activate captain Mark Stone. With the voided trade, the Golden Knights don’t have the financial ability to welcome Stone back, and are falling out of playoff contention with most hits to their lineup.

However, Elliotte Friedman pointed out that someone else is upset about the NHL voiding the trade on Wednesday:

“Somewhere, Ryan Kesler is furious he just lost about $150,000 in taxes.”

The 37-year-old hasn’t played a game in over three years, having his career cut short due to injury. But he is still getting paid, as the six-year, $41.25 million contract extension he signed back in 2015 doesn’t expire until the end of this season.

We don’t feel too sorry for him. But we can understand the frustration. Sure…