"I didn't get a contract offer": Zadorov explains why he requested a trade from the Flames

Despite being traded to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, Nikita Zadorov was back at the Saddledome taking questions from Calgary Flames reporters on Saturday afternoon.

Zadorov’s first game with his new club will come against the Flames, as the two sides are set to face off at 8:00 pm MT. While going up against your former team is never the most comfortable situation, Zadorov’s is even stranger given that he requested a trade out of Calgary.

While there had been whispers that Zadorov may be moved out of Calgary due to the fact that he is a pending UFA, the trade request caught everyone off guard. The 28-year-old himself said during the summer that he would like to remain with the Flames for the rest of his career. That all changed recently, however, for one simple reason.

“I didn’t get a contract offer,” Zadorov said.

Despite the public request, things don’t appear to be hostile between Zadorov and the Flames. While he was quick to mention that there are no friends on the ice, he had nothing but positive things to say about his former teammates.

“It’ll be awkward, but when we go on the ice, there’s no friends,” Zadorov said. “They’re definitely going to be my friends for the rest of my life, for sure. Like I said yesterday in my statement, it was an unbelievable two and a half years. I’ve enjoyed every part of the city, the fans, the people. My teammates were the best part of it. Hopefully they won’t hit me too hard tonight.”

The Flames will be hoping that Zadorov doesn’t hit them too hard, either. The bruising defenceman was leading the team with 41 hits before being traded, and finished with 174 the season prior. It won’t surprise anyone to see him throw a few hard checks in tonight’s outing.

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