Earlier Thursday, it appeared there might be some progress on extension talks between the Canucks and pending UFA defenseman Nikita Zadorov, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. However, that was quickly refuted by Zadorov’s agent, Dan Milstein, and additionally by a report from CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, who said the likelihood of Zadorov remaining in Vancouver was looking “bleak.”
Zadorov, 29, was successful in his short stint with the Canucks. Picked up from the Flames via trade in late November, he finished the year with 14 points, a +6 rating and a whopping 102 PIMs in 54 games in a Vancouver sweater while averaging 17:04 per contest.
The legend of the 6’6″, 250-lb defender grew in the postseason, where he was arguably the team’s second-most valuable blue liner behind Norris finalist Quinn Hughes. He exploded for four goals and eight points in only 13 games, supplementing that with a +3 rating and good underlying metrics while averaging over 20 minutes per night.
That certainly boosted his value as he wraps up a two-year, $7.5MM contract he signed with Calgary in 2022. The hulking Russian has now logged at least 20 points in three consecutive seasons, posted a career-high 125 PIMs this season, and posted strong possession quality numbers during his previous two seasons in Calgary.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported last month that Zadorov would likely seek a six-year, $36MM ($6MM AAV) deal should he hit the open market. For a player without a lengthy history of playing top-four minutes, though, that’s a prohibitively expensive price tag.
Evolving Hockey projects Zadorov to receive a three-year deal at a $4MM cap hit, more in line with what shutdown defender Erik Gudbranson received from the Blue Jackets two summers go. In all likelihood, his next deal will likely fall somewhere in the middle of those two figures.
That’ll be a deal if he keeps playing the way he did in the playoffs, which seems probable
I don’t mean he keeps up the point percentage, just the way he was seeing the ice and how he was acting as a good role-player, making smart choices. I’d expect fewer ppg of course, but hope for the same level of hockey iq, directed at different needs.
Why would his play over 12 games be more of the expectation vs the 10 prior years in the league?
Blackhawks? Can Detroit afford him? Rangers. Maybe they’ll find a way.
Milstein is a good agent, someone will overpay and get buyer’s remorse afterwards
There will be other FAs to set the market. It won’t be him. Anything over 5.5 seems like a pipedream.
@wreckage — I’d take a 10-year track record over a 13-game snapshot, too.
Do appreciate his results during his time yet wonder if individual stastics are bouyed by teammates. Nucks exceeded my expectations this season and Zadorov certainly helped.
A jump to a 6m aav seems unreasonable wonder will Vancouver tender any offer?