Stuart Skinner #74 of the Edmonton Oilers saves a shot by Evgenii Dadonov #63 of the Dallas Stars (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
The Dallas Stars have been one step away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals for two straight years. Stars forward Evgenii Dadonov believes that his team has all the chances to reach the final series and win the Cup in the 2024-25 season.
"I have never been so close to winning the championship as with this team," Dadonov said in an exclusive interview with RG. “I think the Stars are at this stage of development where we need to make a little push to take the next step. But it's the most difficult step. We were close in the last two years, so nobody is giving up. The management does everything to continue moving forward."
The Stars lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals. The Stanley Cup eventually went to Florida, which beat Edmonton in a seven-game series. The Panthers, where Dadonov spent the first five seasons of his NHL career, made the final step after they lost the Final in 2023.
"Of course, everyone hopes that Dallas will be able to repeat the experience of Florida, which played in the final last year and won the Cup this year," Dadonov said. "But you must understand that luck is always a factor in the playoffs. On the other hand, we stepped away from our game in the middle of the series against the Oilers. We started thinking not about our game but getting distracted by secondary details."
Stars forward Joe Pavelski announced his retirement from the NHL after 18 seasons on July 22. Dadonov said that the team knew about his decision long before the end of the season.
"He said that no matter what happens, he will finish his career. We knew about it beforehand. He is a very cool person. He is very modest and communicates with everyone as an equal. Success has never gone to his head. We spent much time together. He is just great."
Pavelski, Stars forward Tyler Seguin, and other NHL players attended Dallas' captain Jamie Benn's wedding ceremony at the end of July. According to the pictures on Instagram, they had a great time.
"They didn't call me," Dadonov said with a grin.
The Stars' travel schedule will be the toughest, with 56,700 miles in the 2024-25 NHL season, while the Pittsburgh Penguins' schedule will be the easiest, with 31,500 miles. Dadonov doesn't think that this will be an issue.
"Yes, we don't have many short trips, but on the other hand, we don't have very long, seven-hour flights," Dadonov said.
The 35-year veteran has played 537 regular season games, scoring 143 goals and 178 assists. Dadonov has one more contract year and doesn't look too far ahead.
"Well, they haven't called me to the KHL yet," Dadonov said with a smile. "As for future plans, I don’t know yet. I don't want to look too far ahead."
Sergey has been in sports journalism since 2007 as a reporter, editor, and manager. He has covered the Olympic Games, soccer World Cups, the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, the European championships, the Stanley Cup Finals, IOC events, and many others. Sergey interviewed the sport's greatest athletes, coaches, and executives. Since 2016, he has been an Independent Senior Editor of NHL.com/ru.
