Confirmed Signing with Link: [BOS] D Nikita Zadorov signs with the Bruins (6 years, $5M AAV)

[ManofSteel55]

The B’s have one of the best defensive systems in the league, I’m not saying Zadorov is going to be a minute munching top pair guy but he is going to do well in the system playing with a stay at home D like Carlo.

I do think he has a better chance to succeed there as anywhere else.

 

[DFF]

You will hate it soon. Zadorov makes more mistakes than good plays.

 

[tmurfin]

People are gonna act like he’s a pylon, but that isn’t true, he serviceable defensively and he’s an animal.

Bruins fans will love him, until it’s time to ship him out, and he’ll be a pylon again, nature of the beast.

 

[Hennessy]

Zadorov is one of my favorite players in the league - his personality and penchant for laying big hits makes it hard not to love the guy - but the main knock against him is that he just never took that elusive next step to become a truly intimidating and dangerous blue-liner.

$5M isn't crazy these days for a guy of his caliber, but I know I'd not want him back in Colorado for that, regardless of cap space.

I expect Bruins fans will absolutely love the guy initially then gradually come to be frustrated by him.

 

[bringbacktheskate604]

I would not have minded this signing if it were for my team so I think it's completely fine. There is a good chance that Zadorov has found another step. He showed really well over his time in Vancouver.

It sounds really biased which it probably is, but I feel like he was likelier to reach another level in Vancouver than somewhere else with the coaching he was receiving. He looked every bit of a #2/3 at times.

Time will tell. I bet this ends up being a very appreciated signing and contract for the B's

I think the playoffs have given people some kind of Mandela effect.
He was a #5-6 guy who often had the lowest ice time and never played tough minutes.
It's fascinating to see how this guy has been cast in lore because he made the oilers look like little bitches.
There's a reason we paid a 3rd for him.
That being said it was pure Bliss watching him push those pansies around.

 

[Mad-Marcus]

I expected a team to give Zadorov a contract like this. I didn't expect it to be a team like Boston, that typically makes smart moves. Zadorov is the kind of guy that looks like he should be able to be a top pair guy based on his tools, but he's struggled almost any time he has gotten on the 2nd pair, let alone the top.

He won't need to be that guy. just to play to his strength will make him a more consistent player.

 

[seafoam]

Probably a year too long a 1M per too high, which is the standard going rate for contracts handed out on July 1st.

This contract won’t be bad until it is.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

I think the playoffs have given people some kind of Mandela effect.
He was a #5-6 guy who often had the lowest ice time and never played tough minutes.
It's fascinating to see how this guy has been cast in lore because he made the oilers look like little bitches.
There's a reason we paid a 3rd for him.
That being said it was pure Bliss watching him push those pansies around.

I think there's a good argument that Zadorov has always been a somewhat undervalued/underutilized player and somewhat of a late bloomer.

 

[Shane Diesel]

To Bruins fans:

"Overpayment, only bottom pairing, gets shredded"

Often means:

"He hurt us and our players and I hate that big jerk"

Feel free to go look up his official TOI numbers if you don't believe other posters. It's all in black-and-white and it's quite stark. He spends more time on the third pairing than anywhere else.

 

[Bottomshelf]

He gives the bruins something that they needed (physicality on the backend) and a bit of intimidation, they love that style and chose to pay for it. Fans will love him hopefully he adapts well to their structure as it’s possible there system will hide some of his lapses

 

[gach]

From Vancouver to Boston:
Elias Lindholm
Nikita Zadorov

From Boston to Vancouver:
Jake Debrusk
Danon Heinlen
Derek Forbort

Seems like a fair trade to me...

Boston clearly wins

 

[LOFIN]

I think the contract is very much too rich for what he does on the ice, and I bet Bruins fans are also going to feel it with this salary cap. For me, he's a third pairing guy, who occasionally can spot for 2nd pair. In the playoffs, he excels.

But man, you got the best personality of the NHL. He's quote machine, a real locker room jester. Media will love him, fans as well. And for me, he will always get points for being one of the few Russians to be outspoken against Putin and especially the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I have always maintained I wanted him back to Colorado, but he has had his pricetag inflated. And that's why he keeps changing teams. Milstein does a good job. But the backend of this deal could actually look, decent? If the salary cap keeps going up aggressively.

I will forever call him big Z, like I did when he played for Colorado. Hoping for many wins against the Leafs, big hits, and funny quotes.

 

[S E P H]

Bruins fans, you're going to love him. He's a brain fart defenceman with the puck and puck watches sometimes leading to goals against, but he's one of the best off-the-rush defenders in the league. Kept McDavid in his back pocket when he was on the Avs. Also, he plays the style that Boston fans love, a 500 kg dose of Vitamin Z to the opposing team.

E: Be fully expected of him trying to go crossbar and down on every shot which leads to him missing the net at least 95% of the time lol. But he has a confidence and swag that rivals even the most prominent dragon energy blokes.

 

[Kalus]

Boston clearly wins

Not when you consider contracts and ages.

 

[Habs Halifax]

You will hate it soon. Zadorov makes more mistakes than good plays.

That might have been accurate when Zadorov was 25/26. But in the last few years, he has matured and is a well rounded physical D now. At age 29 this season, he is someone most teams would love to have on their playoff roster.

Bruins know what they are doing. I wouldn't bet against them bud.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Not when you consider contracts and ages.

Signed till age 34. That's not terrible. Difficult to know the decline factor from 30-34 for most guys but Zadorov's game is not build on puck moving/skating. I'm sure he will be fine for the type of style he plays.

Chiarot is 33 heading into this season. Decent signing for the Wings. Not flashy at all but he gets the job done. Zadorov is a bit better so I think he ages well when you look at the physical D types.

 

[DFF]

Signed till age 34. That's not terrible. Difficult to know the decline factor from 30-34 for most guys but Zadorov's game is not build on puck moving/skating. I'm sure he will be fine for the type of style he plays.

Chiarot is 33 heading into this season. Decent signing for the Wings. Not flashy at all but he gets the job done. Zadorov is a bit better so I think he ages well when you look at the physical D types.

I have been watching zadorov every game until he got traded to the Canucks. My eyes are lying to me then.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I have been watching zadorov every game until he got traded to the Canucks. My eyes are lying to me then.

Depends on what you are looking for sometimes. I would not bet against the Bruins strategy. Trust the Bruins management/strategy more than your own gut is my advise.

His giveaways/60 was 1.14 in the playoffs. Don't trust this stat? A little fair because it's not 100% accurate but if he was a giveaway king, that number would be reflected and much higher than 1.14.

70% D zone starts in the playoffs. That is crazy high like it was with Danault on the Habs run. 70% of D zone starts with the highest +/- on the Canucks in the playoffs for defenseman.

He's very much a solid top 4D who is physical. Hits and Blocks per 60 is attractive.

 

[DFF]

Depends on what you are looking for sometimes. I would not bet against the Bruins strategy. Trust the Bruins management/strategy more than your own gut is my advise.

His giveaways/60 was 1.14 in the playoffs. Don't trust this stat? A little fair because it's not 100% accurate but if he was a giveaway king, that number would be reflected and much higher than 1.14.

70% D zone starts in the playoffs. That is crazy high like it was with Danault on the Habs run. 70% of D zone starts with the highest +/- on the Canucks in the playoffs for defenseman.

He's very much a solid top 4D who is physical. Hits and Blocks per 60 is attractive.

He had a good playoff

Sorry I was watching him before that

 

[Maple Leaf]

Poor man's chara?

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

This contract is interesting.

Made no sense for us because we have Hughes and Soucy on the left (who makes less and is better all around despite a lot of our fans' obsession with Zadorov after the playoffs).

Zadorov seems like he was born to play for the Bruins, and the team has some serious insulation. He can either play below Lindholm or he can play beside McAvoy which is some serious insulation.

He is also an absolutely nuclear deterrent who can actually play the game. So nobody pushes your small guys around anymore because he will fill them in. Also, he's going to humiliate the Leafs and that's going to be funny to watch for all of Canada.

With that said, he was acquired for a 3rd rounder like 4 months ago and there is a reason for that. He needs to be played in the right system and with the right partner. When he tries to do too much he can get lost. If you match him up against the best of the best he can be exploited.

He looked incredible during the playoffs and it's possible that he has turned a corner into fulfilling his potential.

He did say in an interview this season when asked if he felt he had hit his potential: "Not even close". And it was clear that he meant it with every fibre of his being.

So this one could workout, or it could be a real millstone contract.

I think if he had gone to a bad team with no winning culture like Columbus (not picking on them) for bloated contract he would have failed and ended up bought out.

On a team with a strong culture, rigid systems, and a lot of strong support like Boston, I could see it working out.

 

[PlayMakers]

Poor man's chara?

Rich man's Boychuk.

 

[MMC]

When did this guy become some highly valued piece that's worth a $30 million contract? Because when I think of Zadorov I still think of teams passing him around like a blunt before this last season in Calgary (even then he's been a part of 3 organizations since then).

Even after Vancouver acquired him there were rumors by the deadline that they were considering shipping him back out to go get something else

 

[MikeK]

When did this guy become some highly valued piece that's worth a $30 million contract? Because when I think of Zadorov I still think of teams passing him around like a blunt before this last season in Calgary (even then he's been a part of 3 organizations since then).

Even after Vancouver acquired him there were rumors by the deadline that they were considering shipping him back out to go get something else

Yep. I really like him and was hopeful the Canucks could re-sign him, as a 5th man on the depth chart. He's certainly not a top 4 guy and certainly not worth this contract. I'm glad the Canucks walked away from him at this price. He'll have a cpl, maybe even a few serviceable years in BOS. After that I fully expect this contract to be a buyout candidate entering year 4 and beyond. If he wasn't 7 foot 11 inches tall he'd be just another 5/6 man on every other team. The NHL is and always will be fixated with huge Dmen. It is astonishing the amount of huge Dmen who have been gifted millions by NHL teams based solely on size.

 

[bigbadbruins1]

I'll take him over Gryzlyck any day. at least Zadorov doesn't get pushed away like a five year old kid. in front of the net.