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Player Discussion Nikita Zadorov

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I've said it other posts, his hockey processing time is extremely slow for this level. He just takes to long to make the obvious play, reducing whatever advantage his size and strength give him. Turnovers, poor passes, out of position, that covers most of it. 3rd pairing guy, over paid, and people complain about Peeke, who stats aside, the eye test will tell you is playing better @ 2.5M/yr.
 
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Mad-Marcus said:
I've said it other posts, his hockey processing time is extremely slow for this level. He just takes to long to make the obvious play, reducing whatever advantage his size and strength give him. Turnovers, poor passes, out of position, that covers most of it. 3rd pairing guy, over paid, and people complain about Peeke, who stats aside, the eye test will tell you is playing better @ 2.5M/yr.
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He's not that smooth but is effective. Until Lohrei is off his ELC the left side is fine and not too expensive and there's no reason to worry about his deal.

Last couple of years who knows and our moron GM keeps everyone past their sell by date. Vancouver gave up a ton to get him just as a rental we got him for Gryzlyk cap space and some.
 
4ORRBRUIN said:
Worth every penny they are paying him. Brings respect to the uniform unlike some flowers that are just happy to be here and have no problem being bullied.

Captain material
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I don't have a problem with him either. It's funny that people want to overlook Lohrei's 11 bad plays a game because he's "talented" and young, but they don't give Zadorov the same leeway, even though he brings badly needed toughness and attitude.

And I'm not coming from a position of disliking Lohrei at all and I understand he's young, talented and learning.

What I'm saying is that every team needs a blend of talent/toughness/leadership and intangibles.

Obviously, a defenseman's priority should be solid defense, second to that for some is offense (Lohrei), for others it's toughness (Zadorov), and for others it might be leadership.

While nobody in this group is perfect, I'd offer that Zadorov has been better defensively than Lohrei and has done his secondary job (toughness/attitide) at least as well as Lohrei has done his (offense).
 
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BigGoalBrad said:
He's not that smooth but is effective. Until Lohrei is off his ELC the left side is fine and not too expensive and there's no reason to worry about his deal.

Last couple of years who knows and our moron GM keeps everyone past their sell by date. Vancouver gave up a ton to get him just as a rental we got him for Gryzlyk cap space and some.
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All well and good, he slow on processing and that cost us when we get pinned in our own end and he has a chance to get us out. It ends poorly too often. Not that the rest of the corp is much better.
 
KillerMillerTime said:
His main issue is inconsistent reads defensively. How much film do D-Men watch
of breakdowns they can improve on?
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I don't know if we will see growth from him on that at this point. It's pretty much been his career MO. I like the player and am glad he is on the Bruins (I was one the fence about the guy when it was first being kicked around) but he is what he is. The good he brings imo significantly outweighs the periodic bonehead plays. Can you imagine our D without him right now and Lindy and Mac on IR?
 
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Dr Hook said:
I don't know if we will see growth from him on that at this point. It's pretty much been his career MO. I like the player and am glad he is on the Bruins (I was one the fence about the guy when it was first being kicked around) but he is what he is. The good he brings imo significantly outweighs the periodic bonehead plays. Can you imagine our D without him right now and Lindy and Mac on IR?
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He is overpayed by about a million for what he gives an average team, but that isn't the end of the world. His toughness and intimidation factor is needed, particularly on this defense core, because when all are healthy, he is the only guy that is willing to consistently hit to hurt.
 
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KillerMillerTime said:
His main issue is inconsistent reads defensively. How much film do D-Men watch
of breakdowns they can improve on?
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I'm sure they watch a ton of film, and I'm sure they work with him (and all the D) on their reads, stick position, etc. but this has been a very inconsistent group. In the old days you had constants, like Chara. This year, everybody is inconsistent.

There was a goal against SJ where Zadorov went to the wall expecting Peeke to play it and Peeke went to the front of the net instead. There are a lot of those in-between plays this year where it seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Three of the D are new (full time this year) and that seems to at least be part of the confusion, but I also think it's fair to be critical of Zadorov's missed reads. Like @sarge88 said, nobody on this D is perfect. Zadorov has his strengths and weaknesses, and his strengths are outperforming his weaknesses so far.
 
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PlayMakers said:
I'm sure they watch a ton of film, and I'm sure they work with him (and all the D) on their reads, stick position, etc. but this has been a very inconsistent group. In the old days you had constants, like Chara. This year, everybody is inconsistent.

There was a goal against SJ where Zadorov went to the wall expecting Peeke to play it and Peeke went to the front of the net instead. There are a lot of those in-between plays this year where it seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Three of the D are new (full time this year) and that seems to at least be part of the confusion, but I also think it's fair to be critical of Zadorov's missed reads. Like @sarge88 said, nobody on this D is perfect. Zadorov has his strengths and weaknesses, and his strengths are outperforming his weaknesses so far.
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This was something else I was going to mention -- constantly shifting d-pairs. I know injuries have been a big reason for this, but when McAvoy and Lindholm come back, I really hope Sacco just sets his pairs and runs with them for 10 games straight.

There have been so many times where one defenseman seems to be thinking that his partner is going to do something different than he does, with bad results.
 
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PlayMakers said:
I'm sure they watch a ton of film, and I'm sure they work with him (and all the D) on their reads, stick position, etc. but this has been a very inconsistent group. In the old days you had constants, like Chara. This year, everybody is inconsistent.

There was a goal against SJ where Zadorov went to the wall expecting Peeke to play it and Peeke went to the front of the net instead. There are a lot of those in-between plays this year where it seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Three of the D are new (full time this year) and that seems to at least be part of the confusion, but I also think it's fair to be critical of Zadorov's missed reads. Like @sarge88 said, nobody on this D is perfect. Zadorov has his strengths and weaknesses, and his strengths are outperforming his weaknesses so far.
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Do you have any idea how much game film they review from what we see on TV and what the players see? So taking Zadorov for example, how much game play do they use from behind him, which is what he sees?
 
I have zero issue with his game for the most part. Yes, he will make mistakes, but having a no-bullshit guy back there is awesome.

He seems to play with different d partners every night, too. He hasn't had a consistent partner all season. I feel like once everyone is back he will settle in a bit.
 
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PlayMakers said:
I'm sure they watch a ton of film, and I'm sure they work with him (and all the D) on their reads, stick position, etc. but this has been a very inconsistent group. In the old days you had constants, like Chara. This year, everybody is inconsistent.

There was a goal against SJ where Zadorov went to the wall expecting Peeke to play it and Peeke went to the front of the net instead. There are a lot of those in-between plays this year where it seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Three of the D are new (full time this year) and that seems to at least be part of the confusion, but I also think it's fair to be critical of Zadorov's missed reads. Like @sarge88 said, nobody on this D is perfect. Zadorov has his strengths and weaknesses, and his strengths are outperforming his weaknesses so far.
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Korpisalo should have played that puck. I'm pretty sure Swayman would have. Probably what Zadorov was thinking.

Beyonder said:
I expect that come playoff time, his value will uptick a lot. I think you'll notice what he brings a lot more at that time, especially if up against Florida again.
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Playoffs?

Playoffs?!
 
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CellyHard said:
I feel like Zadorov is the least of our worries

And we have a lot to worry about
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He's been fine. Not great, and not this game-monster that folks who haven't watched more than his Youtube highlights were expecting. I don't have an issue with his play on the ice. He's performing exactly like he has in previous seasons with his previous 5 teams.

My issue was adding him to this roster in the first place at $5mil + NTC. But that ain't Zadorov's fault. He wasn't worth that amount at the time, and I still don't think he is. You could have gotten a solid, stay at home defenseman for half that amount and be just as well off as you are now.

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Like others I notice he is somewhat lost defensively and makes some questionable decisions.

I'm willing to live with that though because I like the other aspects he brings. Poster quoted below had it right, you need a good blend on your team and especially in your d corps. He has elements they sorely need back there, a big reason why I can also live with Lohrei's deficiencies too.

sarge88 said:
I don't have a problem with him either. It's funny that people want to overlook Lohrei's 11 bad plays a game because he's "talented" and young, but they don't give Zadorov the same leeway, even though he brings badly needed toughness and attitude.

And I'm not coming from a position of disliking Lohrei at all and I understand he's young, talented and learning.

What I'm saying is that every team needs a blend of talent/toughness/leadership and intangibles.

Obviously, a defenseman's priority should be solid defense, second to that for some is offense (Lohrei), for others it's toughness (Zadorov), and for others it might be leadership.

While nobody in this group is perfect, I'd offer that Zadorov has been better defensively than Lohrei and has done his secondary job (toughness/attitide) at least as well as Lohrei has done his (offense).
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Really well said, and although I agree i think the bigger difference is Lohrei has plenty of room to grow while Zaddy is what he is.
 
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RoccoF14 said:
He's been fine. Not great, and not this game-monster that folks who haven't watched more than his Youtube highlights were expecting. I don't have an issue with his play on the ice. He's performing exactly like he has in previous seasons with his previous 5 teams.

My issue was adding him to this roster in the first place at $5mil + NTC. But that ain't Zadorov's fault. He wasn't worth that amount at the time, and I still don't think he is. You could have gotten a solid, stay at home defenseman for half that amount and be just as well off as you are now.

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Yea, it was an overpay in both term and AAV. He will be 30 in 2 months, so he is already into his regression years and he has 5 full seasons after this one on the contract.

It’s a lot for a 3rd pair guy who is only expected to regress with age each year for the life of the contract.

I like having him on the team, just not with that contract.
 
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