When he left for the Boston Bruins in free agency, much was made of Nikita Zadorov's decision to leave the Vancouver Canucks.
As it turns out, there was more to that decision than met the eye. Zadorov, a lifelong Canucks fan, loved the city, the team, and the environment. Reports suggested that the Canucks wanted to keep the hulking Russian, but in the end, it didn't happen.
Zadorov, 29, reflected on all this in a recent interview with Igor Rabiner of Responsible Gambler,
“Those were probably the coolest six months of my career. It's a blast to play hockey there. The fans are awesome, the city is cool, the team is cool too. The team, the coaching staff - everything was super. Head coach Tocchet, the Sedins, Foote, Gonchar... wherever you look, there’s a Hall of Famer,” Zadorov told Rabiner of his short time with the Canucks. “You can learn a lot from everyone. When Sergei Gonchar came in, he worked a lot with all the defensemen individually. I think those six months were a big boost for my career, I changed a lot as a player.”
Zadorov was acquired by the Canucks on Nov. 30, 2023 after he and his agent, Dan Milstein, sought a trade, resulting in the Calgary Flames moving him in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick. The 2013 16th overall pick scored five goals, nine assists, and 14 points in 54 regular season with the Canucks before adding four goals, four assists, and eight points in 13 postseason contests.
And, as Zadorov would tell it, those playoff games in Vancouver were the highlight of his time in B.C.
“The playoffs in Vancouver were crazy in terms of atmosphere. . . What happened in Vancouver was on another level in terms of energy, in terms of volume, in terms of how the city lived hockey,” Zadorov recalled. "During the playoffs, you try to eat at home, but when you go out for dinner, you don’t have a single chance to pay for it yourself. Either the restaurant owners will come over right away, or someone at the next table will pay for you. The city lived for hockey, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Offseason reports suggested that Zadorov and Milstein were seeking more money than the Canucks were willing to offer to keep the 6-foot-6 defenceman, though Zadorov graciously took this opportunity to praise the Canucks and explain the situation that ultimately unfolded.
"In terms of money, it was basically the same contract that I got in Boston. Vancouver didn't offend me, everything they offered was very good. There were a couple of moments in the negotiations that I didn't like, both the way they were conducted and the way the information was presented to me, but that wasn't the main thing,” Zadorov said. “In the end, when it was time to make a decision, we weighed everything up, and a couple of factors played into the fact that it was more comfortable for our family to play in the U.S. than in Canada. You make a list and check off the boxes: this is more suitable here; this is more suitable there. In the end, we chose what was more relevant for hockey and more relevant for life.”
Zadorov ultimately signed a six-year, $30 million contract ($5 million AAV) with the Bruins on July 1 and has two goals, nine assists, and 11 points in 48 games in Beantown so far.