Canucks get Zadorov for draft picks in trade with Flames
The Vancouver Canucks have made a trade with their division rival.
Left-shot defenceman Nikita Zadorov is heading to Vancouver from the Calgary Flames, who will receive two draft picks in return. The Flames get Chicago’s fifth-round pick in 2024 (acquired by Vancouver yesterday in the Anthony Beauvillier trade) and Vancouver’s third-round pick in 2026 in the deal.
The Canucks have been linked to Zadorov ever since the 6-foot-5, 248-pound blueliner requested a trade out of Calgary in November.
âNikita is a big, strong and mobile two-way defenceman who will bring more physicality to our backend,â said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin. âWe really like his size and reach and his addition to our blueline gives us more depth and better options moving forward.â
Zadorov, 28, is in the final year of a contract that carries a $3.75 million cap hit. That’s just $400,000 less than Beauvillier, who the Canucks dealt yesterday in what was effectively a salary dump.
Not only is Zadorov the latest Russian player to join the Canucks, like Andrei Kuzmenko and Ilya Mikheyev, he’s a client of agent Dan Milstein.
Agent Dan Milstein : Nikita is very excited to get to Vancouver, the Canucks were very high on his list of places to go.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) November 30, 2023
Drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2013 draft, Zadorov has played 588 NHL games with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks, in addition to the Sabres and Flames.
Best known for his physical play, Zadorov scored a career-high 14 goals last season and had a career-high 22 points the season prior. Zadorov has six points (1-5-6) in 21 games for the Flames this season.
Zadorov has been primarily a bottom-pairing defenceman in Calgary and is averaging 18:24 of ice time per game. He has been used on the penalty kill throughout his NHL career and represents an upgrade for Vancouver’s blue line.
When everyone is healthy, it seems likely the Canucks will have to play one of their left-shot blueliners on the right side. Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers are the only right-shots in Vancouver’s top six, assuming that left-shot defencemen Quinn Hughes, Ian Cole, Carson Soucy, and Zadorov are in the lineup.
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