As we recently wrote about, Sportsnet's NHL insider Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Vancouver Canucks should look for a reunion with Nikita Zadorov. Sharing his thoughts in an edition of his popular 32 Thoughts column, he said:
"Weird idea that may only make sense to me: Nikita Zadorov back to Vancouver. No idea if even possible, or if anyone would want it, but he was a good fit and the Canucks miss him."
At the time, we stated that the Canucks needed to steer clear of Zadorov, but it apparently turns out that they have done the exact opposite. At least according to CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.
Canucks and Bruins have chatted about Zadorov
Giving due credit to Noah Strang of the Daily Hive, Dhaliwal claims that the Canucks have already reached out to the Bruins about Zadorov. Discussing the matter on Friday's episode of the Halford & Brough In The Morning, he said:
"We already know they’ve thought about Nikita Zadorov; some say they’ve already called Boston about Zadorov."
Now we've indicated the reasons why we believe a reunion with Zadorov is not a good idea. Among other things, he had a so-so regular season after his trade to Vancouver last season, something which has spilled over into the beginning of his 2024-25 campaign in Boston.
The 29-year-old only seemed motivated during the playoffs, when he finally began to show the Canucks what he was capable of. He was arguably also motivated by the need to play well, in order to secure a lucrative long-term deal somewhere.
This certainly worked out, as Zadorov eventually signed a six-year, $30 million contract extension with the Bruins, after contentious negotiations with the Canucks. Which brings us to the other two reasons why we don't believe a reunion with him is such a good idea.
The 2013 16th overall draft pick claims the Canucks disrespected him with their offers, even though they offered him more money than he'd ever received up to that point in his NHL career. His whole take on the situation smacked of hypocrisy, with him actually being the issue during negotiations.
A costly endeavour to pursue
As for the final reason the Canucks should give Zadorov a wide berth, is because of the contract extension he signed. It's just too expensive and too long for a player who isn't getting any younger and hasn't been playing that well.
In any event, Dhaliwal did advise that the conversation between the Canucks and Bruins didn't last too long. And yet, we can't still help worrying that this won't be the end of the matter.
In part, this depends on when the Canucks contacted the Bruins, i.e. was it before or after Filip Hronek's injury against the Pittsburgh Penguins?And even if it was after the injury, the Canucks might just be desperate enough to go back to the Bruins, pending how their search goes elsewhere for blue line help.
Ultimately, we don't believe the Canucks will complete a trade to bring Zadorov back; their cap situation compromises them too much, even if the Bruins offered to retain some of his salary. However, you just never know for sure how things could play out in the wild and wonderful world of the NHL.