Canucks' Zadorov has interesting answer for NHL's best player
Vancouver Canucks defenceman Nikita Zadorov gave his opinion on the NHL’s best player this morning — and it’s not Connor McDavid.
Instead, Zadorov singled out Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon as the league’s best.
“Best player in the world up there and he’s humming right now so we need to stop him for sure,” the big defenceman said about MacKinnon as the Canucks prepare to face off against the Avalanche tonight.
While MacKinnon does lead the NHL in scoring this season, he’s often passed over in the discussion of the league’s best players for McDavid or Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews.
“If I were to try to build a team, I would build around him over those two guys because he is a winner. He won the Stanley Cup,” continued Zadorov as he explained his pick.
Nikita Zadorov calls Nathan Mackinnon āthe best player in the world.ā
Says he would take him over McDavid and Matthew because āheās a winner.ā#Canucks #Avalanche
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) March 13, 2024
MacKinnon has 113 points in 66 games for the Avalanche this season. He’s one of the fastest players in the league and a handful for any team to defend against. As Zadorov alluded to, MacKinnon also was a major reason the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Oilers forward McDavid is the reigning Hart Trophy winner and has led the league in scoring for three straight seasons. He was picked by nearly 60% of players as the most impactful skater in last year’s NHLPA player poll.
Matthews is another player who is often mentioned in the conversation. He’s on pace to finish right around the 70-goal mark this year, a barrier that has not been reached since the 1992-93 season.
Neither Matthews nor McDavid have won the Stanley Cup, or even made the finals.
Zadorov did play with MacKinnon when both were members of the Avalanche from 2016 to 2020.
The puck drops at 7:30 pm PT tonight in a bit of a later start for this battle between the Avalanche and Canucks. The two teams have been some of the best in the Western Conference and it is a preview of a potential playoff matchup for this spring.