Nikita Zadorov Receives Two-Game Suspension
After announcing a hearing just a few hours ago, the Department of Player Safety has made a quick ruling on Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov. The league announced (Twitter link) that the blueliner has been handed a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head against Detroit forward Lucas Raymond.
The incident occurred early in the second period today with Zadorov receiving a match penalty on the play. As the league’s accompanying video notes, Zadorov’s hit satisfies both elements for an illegal check to the head with the head being the principal point of contact and the hit being avoidable; it was deemed that Zadorov’s hit was mistimed and that he needed to take a better angle to hit Raymond’s core.
With Vancouver being back in action on Sunday, the league needed to make a ruling fairly quickly. Zadorov will miss that contest against Washington as well as Tuesday’s game versus Chicago; he’ll be eligible to return on Thursday when they host Detroit in a rematch of today’s game. It’s the first suspension of Zadorov’s career and he will forfeit a little over $39K in salary, that money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Nikita Zadorov To Have Hearing For Illegal Hit To The Head
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov will have a hearing this evening for an illegal hit to the head on Detroit Red Wings winger Lucas Raymond. The hit came halfway through Vancouver’s Saturday loss to Detroit and earned Zadorov a match penalty. The 28-year-old hasn’t faced punishment from the Department of Player Safety in his career up to this point. He’s scored four points, all assists, through 27 games with the Canucks this season. He’s also played in 21 games and scored six points with the Calgary Flames
Zadorov is on pace to break his career-high in penalty minutes this season, now up to 83 penalty minutes – just 20 minutes short of the career-high he set in 2017-18 – with 30 games left on Vancouver’s schedule. His attendance in the box has become routine, with Zadorov’s 180 penalty minutes ranking higher than any other Flames player, including Milan Lucic and Andrew Mangiapane, over his three seasons with the team.
The Canucks traded for Zadorov in late November, sending Calgary a third and fifth pick. He’s stepped into a second-pairing role with his new club, playing primarily with Tyler Myers. Calgary and Vancouver have since swapped forwards Elias Lindholm and Andrei Kuzmenko, with Vancouver adding a first-round pick, conditional fourth-round pick, and two prospects. Lindholm has scored two goals in his first three games in Vancouver, playing on the team’s top line.
Evening Notes: Pettersson, Kane, Canucks
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that Ottawa Senators prospect Oskar Pettersson will join the team’s AHL affiliate in Belleville and make his debut with the team this weekend. Pettersson was selected 72nd overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft and will be joining a team in North America for the first time in his short career. Pettersson had been on loan from the Senators to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League where he posted a single assist in 26 games.
Pettersson may have struggled offensively this season, but he has been a strong offensive contributor with Rögle BK J20 over the past three seasons registering 74 points in 74 games. The 19-year-old has shown that he can be a strong player along the boards and can play with the puck in traffic, both skills that should him thrive in the North American game.
Pettersson will likely debut on Friday against the Syracuse Crunch.
In other evening notes:
- Detroit Red Wings reporter Daniella Bruce tweeted that winger Patrick Kane could suit up on Wednesday if he is 100%. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters that the team would know more tomorrow after practice but that the 35-year-old is very close to a return. Kane has been very effective this season in just 19 games with seven goals and nine assists, however, the team is inexplicably just 8-9-2 with him in the lineup and 18-9-3 without him.
- Elliotte Friedman appeared on Donnie and Dhali today and said that the Canucks remain in pursuit of a top-six forward with Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindholm at the top of their list of potential targets. The Canucks are said to be looking at forwards who can play multiple positions up front and may need to outbid other teams to facilitate a trade with Calgary. The Flames and Canucks may be bitter rivals, but they have made one trade already this season with the Canucks acquiring defenseman Nikita Zadorov in exchange for two draft picks.
Evening Notes: Fantilli, Capitals, Zadorov
Star Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Adam Fantilli suffered a cut on the back of his leg in the team’s Sunday night loss to the Seattle Kraken. He was seen leaving the game on crutches and the team announced today that he will miss their Tuesday night game against the St. Louis Blues. Fantilli has been a bright spot in a dark Blue Jackets season, tied for second on the team in scoring with 27 points through 49 games. The 19-year-old is one of only four Blue Jackets to play in all 49 of the team’s games this season.
Columbus drafted Fantilli with the third-overall pick in last year’s draft and now becomes the last of the top-three picks to face an injury this season. Chicago Blackhawks sensation Connor Bedard is currently grappling with a jaw injury that’s limited him to 39 games, while Leo Carlsson faced a knee injury that’s held him to just 30 games this season. The trio of top picks is joined by Zach Benson – who has played in 38 games – as the only players to jump directly into the NHL. Despite playing in more games than anyone else in the class, Fantilli doesn’t lead the group in scoring – as Bedard has managed 15 goals and 33 points despite his injury.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Washington Capitals have signed a six-year extension with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. The new deal carries the partnership through the 2029-30 season. Hershey has been Washington’s affiliate since 2005, when they were coached by NHL-coaching veteran Bruce Boudreau. Hershey won the Calder Cup Championship in their first year under the Capitals, and have since become a legacy team in the minor leagues, winning three other championships. This includes last season when they toppled the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a seven-game series. With six more years ahead of them, Hershey will look to continue to add to their trophy cabinet.
- Player agent Dan Milstein has shared that his client Nikita Zadorov is not expecting to be traded by the Vancouver Canucks before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Speculation arose after Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed Vancouver’s desire to clear up cap space, listing Andrei Kuzmenko and Zadorov as options for moving out cap. Zadorov joined the Canucks on November 30th, with Vancouver sending a 2024 fifth-round pick and 2026 third-round pick to the Calgary Flames. The 28-year-old defender has since played in 24 games with the Canucks, scoring four points and recording 39 penalty minutes. He carries a $3.75MM cap hit through the end of the season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Coyotes Liam O’Brien Fined For Roughing
The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced last night that Arizona Coyotes forward Liam O’Brien would be fined $2,018.23 for roughing Vancouver Canucks forward Sam Lafferty on January 18th. The amount is the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the money from it will be put towards the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
O’Brien was given a minor penalty for roughing on the play, which occurred at the 5:26 mark of the first period. O’Brien left Arizona’s bench and immediately went after Lafferty after the Canucks forward had laid a big hit earlier in the game. O’Brien threw off his gloves and began punching Lafferty, who did not offer a response. The referees pulled O’Brien away and restrained him before escorting him to the penalty box.
The situation did not cool down after that as O’Brien fought Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov later on in the first period which earned him another five penalty minutes. O’Brien is now the NHL leader in penalty minutes with 105 PIM in 43 games which nearly eclipses the 114 minutes he accumulated last season in 56 games with Arizona.
The 29-year-old has spent parts of seven NHL seasons with the Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Avalanche and set career highs last season in games played with 56, goals with three, and assists with eight. He has not faced discipline before from the DOPS.
Evening Notes: Zadorov, Vlasic, Poehling
Elliotte Friedman reported today that Vancouver Canucks recent trade acquisition Nikita Zadorov never received a formal contract extension offer from the Calgary Flames. Friedman went on to add that Calgary and Zadorov had different opinions on the length of a potential extension as the Flames wanted to be cautious while Zadorov was looking for long-term security.
It’s an understandable position from both sides given the circumstance they both find themselves in. Calgary has several undesirable long-term contracts on the books and was likely hesitant to add another one, while Zadorov has never had more than two years of security on a contract (outside of his ELD). The differences were too much for both sides to overcome which led to the Flames dealing the pending unrestricted free agent to Vancouver.
In other evening notes:
- Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News is reporting that San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic is unlikely to be traded anytime soon. While that news isn’t surprising, the timing is interesting given that Vlasic was re-inserted into the Sharks lineup two nights ago after being a healthy scratch for a stretch. It seems that for the right price any contract in the NHL can be moved, however, there hasn’t been a contract situation quite like Vlasic’s. The 36-year-old has no points in 15 games this season and is playing under a $7MM cap hit for this season, and two more years after that. He has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of three teams in which he would accept a trade. The other wrinkle in a potential trade is that if the Sharks were to retain salary, it would represent the final time they can do that until one of the current retained contracts expires.
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced tonight that center Ryan Poehling would miss their game against the Arizona Coyotes due to an illness. No word yet on whether Poehling is expected to be out of Flyers lineup for any length of time. Poehling has already missed three games this season as a healthy scratch as the 24-year-old has struggled during his first season in Philadelphia. Poehling has had a far more advantageous deployment in Philadelphia than he did in Pittsburgh last year, but his analytics and defensive metrics aren’t what they were despite being given more offensive opportunities.
Snapshots: Zadorov, Sillinger, Smith
Although Nikita Zadorov has yet to make his debut for the Vancouver Canucks, talk has already begun on his longer-term future with the club. The pending unrestricted free agent defenseman would be open to extending his contract with the team, according to his agent, Dan Milstein. Milstein said in an interview with CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal that he and the Canucks “will sit down and exchange thoughts,” adding that “hopefully there is a deal” to be had on a new contract.
Zadorov, 28, is currently playing on a $3.75MM cap hit. Whether or not he can match that kind of yearly outlay on his next contract will likely depend on how he fits into Vancouver’s overall defensive structure and coach Rick Tocchet’s system. Without much offense to speak of in his game, it’s fair to wonder whether Vancouver can afford to offer Zadorov a pay raise. With Filip Hronek on pace to score 79 points and in need of his own contract extension, the Canucks may not have the kind of room to pay Zadorov on a market-rate contract.
Some other notes from across the NHL:
- Columbus Blue Jackets center Cole Sillinger is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda. That’s less than ideal news for Columbus, as Sillinger is still widely seen as a core part of the team’s future. While he hasn’t quite reached the heights of his 16-goal, 31-point rookie season, Sillinger has managed nine points in 24 games this year and seemed to build some solid chemistry with other young Blue Jackets forwards such as Dmitri Voronkov and Yegor Chinakhov.
- The Hockey News’ Max Miller relays word from San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn, who says forward Givani Smith will be a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Smith, 25, is dealing with a “mid-body injury” according to Quinn. A relentless, physical forward, the injury cost Smith most of yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins. He has three points and 29 penalty minutes in 21 games this year.
Snapshots: Ducks, Schwartz, Maple Leafs
Without a definitive commitment on their availability for the team’s game tonight, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of defensemen Radko Gudas and Ilya Lyubushkin. Gudas had previously missed the entirety of the team’s last game against the Vancouver Canucks, while Lyubushkin left during the game and did not return to action.
Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on the blue line, as they are currently riding a seven-game losing streak, being outscored by a margin of 21 goals in that time. Providing mild offense in their own right, Gudas and Lyubushkin’s defensive capabilities would help the Ducks considerably in keeping the pucks out of their net.
In regards to Gudas specifically, even though he was an integral defensive cog in the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer, he has arguably become even more important to the Ducks organization. Over the last several seasons, Anaheim has had a difficult time in the defensive zone, but with Gudas’ arrival, he has aided the team with a 91.3% oiSV% through the first 21 games of the season, a higher mark than even his solid career averages in that department.
Other snapshots:
- Earlier today, it was reported that after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with a lower-body injury, the Seattle Kraken would be placing forward Jaden Schwartz on injured reserve. In speaking about that directly with reporters today, the head coach of the Kraken, Dave Hakstol, stated that Schwartz’s placement on the IR would be longer than a ‘day-to-day’ injury, indicating that Schwartz could be out of Seattle’s lineup for at least the next handful of games (X Link).
- Although being acquired by the Vancouver Canucks a little while ago, there was another team extremely interested in adding Nikita Zadorov to their blue line. Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in acquiring both Zadorov and Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames in one trade, giving the indication that the Maple Leafs will be adding a notable defenseman in some form or another by the trade deadline.
Nikita Zadorov Traded To The Vancouver Canucks
The Calgary Flames have traded defenseman Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 2024 NHL Draft fifth-round pick and a 2026 NHL Draft third-round pick.
Zadorov’s move to Vancouver comes in response to a formal trade request submitted on November 11th, following a shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Zadorov has appeared in 21 games with the Flames this season, recording six points, 23 penalty minutes, and a -6. He was in his third season with the club after Calgary acquired him through a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Calgary signed Zadorov to two contracts, including a two-year, $7.5MM contract signed in 2022 that Zadorov is in the final year of. The 28-year-old defenseman carries a $3.75MM cap hit through the remainder of the season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Vancouver will become the fifth team that Zadorov has played for throughout his 11-year career. He was originally drafted 16th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft, making his NHL debut at the end of the 2013-14 season. The defender played his rookie season in 2014-15, notching 15 points, 51 penalty minutes, and a -10 in 60 games. The Sabres traded Zadorov to the Colorado Avalanche in 2015 alongside J.T. Compher and Mikhail Grigorenko, in the trade that brought Ryan O’Reilly to Buffalo.
The deal to Vancouver is the fifth trade that Zadorov has been a part of, including the trading of the draft pick used to select the defenseman – which was swapped between the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo in the deal that sent Jason Pominville to Minnesota. Zadorov has not joined a new team by any other means other than a trade.
Noah Hanifin May Be Signed And Traded
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting that sources have told him that Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin could be dealt this season with an extension in place beyond this year. If a situation like that were to happen, it would effectively be a sign-and-trade agreement between the Flames and an acquiring team, as the team trading for Hanifin would be able to acquire the 26-year-old as a player under contract beyond this season.
LeBrun previously reported a few weeks ago that Hanifin and the Flames were close to agreeing to an extension back in October that would have been valued at roughly $60MM over an eight-year term. However, the Flames pulled the deal after Hanifin opted to wait and see how the season developed.
The Flames have turned things around this season after stumbling early in the year and might be feeling less pressure to deal some of their pending unrestricted free agents as they are back in the thick of things. However, LeBrun points out that the Flames are unlikely to make a deep run in the playoffs should they get there and may opt to recoup some assets for a few of their upcoming free agents.
Hanifin is in his sixth year with Calgary after coming over in a trade from the Carolina Hurricanes and has four goals and six assists in 22 games thus far. If he is to hit the open market, there will be no shortage of teams looking to acquire the native of Boston, Massachusetts.
The Flames are one game into a six-game homestand that could dictate how they approach the rest of the season. If they struggle on home ice, it may incentivize them to move some of their other pending free agents, such as Chris Tanev, Elias Lindholm or Nikita Zadorov, who requested a trade just a few weeks ago.