Player Discussion Nikita Zadorov

[BigGoalBrad]

He's Gryzlyks replacement and the least of our problems.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

He's Gryzlyks replacement and the least of our problems.

People also say he is a 3rd pair Dman but in his last two PO seasons he was 3rd and 4th in TOI with Vancouver & Calgary and was a plus player. He wasn't paired with Quinn Hughes last playoffs as both are LD, so I don't see why he shouldn't be paired with McAvoy and not drag him down. Give him time to acclimate and he should be ok. You can always spot Lindholm with McAvoy when needed.

 

[Kalus]

I think what @PlayMakers may be referring to in his question is that the Bruins said publicly from the time of Zadorov’s signing that they were going to try him on MacAvoy’s left side. And before the regular season starts its first game, Zadorov is on the third. That there is an apparent disconnect between what they thought they were getting and what they’ve observed over training camp.

We don’t know for sure (it’s only game one and who knows even what will happen by the second period) but it’s something.

Personally I never thought Zadorov was a top pair guy anyway… and I’ve been an advocate of acquiring him for years now. He’s likely to see time with everyone, but even if he’s third pair through Game 82, I think he will contribute in ways where the number of his pairing will be inconsequential. He’s gonna make everyone around him bigger, he’s going to surprise at key moments, and he’s going to be a massive addition to the locker room. Is $5M/yr too much? Sure. But it’s too much well-spent IMO.

$5M at 6 years for a 25 year old Zadorov, overpayment, but fine.

$5M at 1 or 2 years for a 29 year old Zadorov, overpayment, but fine.

$5M at 6 years for a 29 year old Zadorov, that’s a different answer. Far too many regression years, especially for a guy who plays as physically as he does.

But just like the E Lindholm deal, the Zadorov signing makes sense if you see it as a 3 year deal while they are in contention and then the back half will be during the rebuild, so the massive overpayment doesnt matter as much.

 

[Mad-Marcus]

The B's didn't stick to any of the D pair plan discussed by Monty heading into camp.
The team in general looked ill prepared and struggling to get comfortable. I think too much time was spent in camp trying out guys that were headed for Providence. Fine for the first 4 games, but the last 3 should have been roster warmups. It shows, no chemistry. It should/hopefully will get better over October.

 

[PlayMakers]

Yeah, I'm going to try not to draw any conclusions after one game. They weren't ready. Florida looked like it was playing Game8 of the Stanley Cup Finals and the Bruins looked like Game 3 of the pre-season. It was Game 3 for Marchand and Lindholm, Jones... We weren't ready. We weren't sharp.

Oddly enough, everyone was worried about the offense and felt the defense would be strong but we ended up scoring 4 goals and our defense was atrocious, all their goals came from the top of our crease or off our defenseman's stick.

Positives... PK was good, and despite what everyone says I thought they showed some push back. Zadorov and Kastelic each had 6 hits. Frederic's line was terrible but he was engaged. Brazeau made a nice pass and Freddy with a nice snipe top corner. Swapping Poitras for Jones on that line should be a huge gain.

 

[Clode]

I think he was the only Dman last night who I didn't have a "wtf are you doing ?!" moment with last night so I'd say thats a positive.

 

[BTO]

Zad has always ended up as a third pairing guy on every team he's been on. You know why? Because that's what he is. The Bruins roster has zero to do with it. He's a physical defenseman that gets exposed as a limited player the more minutes you play him.

Yeah well I noticed McAvoy, Carlo and Lohrei getting exposed last night. Maybe we should play all three of them on the 3rd pair?

 

[Dr Hook]

Yeah, I'm going to try not to draw any conclusions after one game. They weren't ready. Florida looked like it was playing Game8 of the Stanley Cup Finals and the Bruins looked like Game 3 of the pre-season. It was Game 3 for Marchand and Lindholm, Jones... We weren't ready. We weren't sharp.

Oddly enough, everyone was worried about the offense and felt the defense would be strong but we ended up scoring 4 goals and our defense was atrocious, all their goals came from the top of our crease or off our defenseman's stick.

Positives... PK was good, and despite what everyone says I thought they showed some push back. Zadorov and Kastelic each had 6 hits. Frederic's line was terrible but he was engaged. Brazeau made a nice pass and Freddy with a nice snipe top corner. Swapping Poitras for Jones on that line should be a huge gain.

The team just looked slow, out of hockey shape, and yes, as you said, not ready. I don't understand how that happens in this day and age in pro sports. I get a couple of guys that maybe had camp injuries or off-season surgeries to be that way, but most of the team? It surely wasnt an issue for Florida.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

The team just looked slow, out of hockey shape, and yes, as you said, not ready. I don't understand how that happens in this day and age in pro sports. I get a couple of guys that maybe had camp injuries or off-season surgeries to be that way, but most of the team? It surely wasnt an issue for Florida.

Six teams played on ESPN last night and Boston was the only one to look like trash.