Player Discussion RD Nikita Zaitsev

[Hun]

Babcock to Zaitsev and more. Google translate to help.

Никита Зайцев: «У меня очень хорошие отношения с тренером «Оттавы». Он понимает, что мне нужно»

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[coladin]

Interesting. Thanks for the article.

 

[Engineer]

That is what Zaitsev claims Babcock said to him.

Why is the title posted as out of context click bait?

 

[Hun]

This quote

 

[SENATOR]

In Russia Zaitsev is highly regarded by the fans and media, for them he is a star with offensive skills. In Toronto, he was reduced by ( "thebestcoachintheworld" as the Russian fan said in the comment under the article) to block shots and asked to be more physical and play a shutdown role.

 

[SensontheRush]

Nikita Zaitsev looks more like Jake Gardiner than Jake Gardiner does.

 

[Ouroboros]

So? I wanted him to remain a Leafs player too.

 

[2CHAINZ]

I still want you to remain a senator is what I said to the 3rd pick we sent.

 

[Xspyrit]

In Russia Zaitsev is highly regarded by the fans and media, for them he is a star with offensive skills. In Toronto, he was reduced by ( "thebestcoachintheworld" as the Russian fan said in the comment under the article) to block shots and asked to be more physical and play a shutdown role.

In other words, Babcock did to Zaitsev what Boucher did to Ceci. No surprise they were both swapped.

Problem for the Leafs and Sens, real shutdown D-men like Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov and Marc Methot are very rare nowadays, so they take any D-man with a good skillset and good size and try to turn them into shutdown D-men.

Sens need Jaros to turn into one of those types. Look at what Parayko did for the Blues, a beast in his zone.

 

[Ice-Tray]

In other words, Babcock did to Zaitsev what Boucher did to Ceci. No surprise they were both swapped.

Problem for the Leafs and Sens, real shutdown D-men like Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov and Marc Methot are very rare nowadays, so they take any D-man with a good skillset and good size and try to turn them into shutdown D-men.

Sens need Jaros to turn into one of those types. Look at what Parayko did for the Blues, a beast in his zone.

I’m not so sure about that. Jaros has more skill than to be just a shut down guy.

I think what we need to look for are guys who can shut down but also rush the puck out or make a play. Stay at home defensemen seems like a lost style of play by guys who were not skilled enough to play in the other two zones.

Now, I’m not so sure that a guy like Jaros would be happy having all of his offensive avenues shut off because we ‘need’ a shut down guy. It also serves to cut down a player’s earning power at the knees because points lead to dollars typically.

I think we need hybrid players that can play d and rush the puck/have a good first pass. I think what you miss most is a character trait that these guys can have. That is aggressiveness and courage. Guys who relish finishing their checks, enjoy standing up for their team mates, and get a rise out of the aggressive side of the game. A guy who has the courage to stand his ground in front of the net, and block shots.

You don’t need to be a typical shut down guy for that, nor do you need to be big. In real life I find that bigger guys tend to be less naturally aggressive than smaller guys.

I’m looking forward to seeing what a three man defensive unit looks like, with the centre taking an active d role when we’re in our zone. I think that was what DJ was describing as how he wanted us to play in our zone.

 

[JungleBeat]

Best case scenario is that he finds his game here being paired with Chabot/Wolanin and the Sens flip him after two years.

Good thing is that He’s much better than Ceci and actually has some redeeming qualities unlike Cody.

 

[Super Cake]

Bold prediction: He bolts to the KHL halfway through the season.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

View attachment 242429

Best case scenario is that he finds his game here being paired with Chabot/Wolanin and the Sens flip him after two years.

Good thing is that He’s much better than Ceci and actually has some redeeming qualities unlike Cody.

He's not much better than Ceci. I don't know which redeeming qualities you're referring to unfortunately.

He's rated as one of the worst passers in the NHL (below Ceci), he's a black hole with whoever he's paired with (his partners always do worse with him than with others), he's terrible at moving the puck out of the zone and typically starts and ends his shifts in the defensive zone and last year he was the worst of all Leafs players at getting his shots on goal. He's one of the worst regular Dmen and contracts in the NHL and his struggles are very similar to Ceci. He will likely be played even more than in Toronto and be surrounded by even less talent. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up struggling just as much or more than Ceci did.

 

[Akrapovince]

This isn’t a direct discussion point on Zaitsev, but why was Ceci involved in this deal at all?

Why was this deal not constucted like the Marleau deal?

Would’ve loved to see something along the lines of;

Zaitsev, Toronto 2020 2nd round pick, Toronto 2021 2nd round pick or Connor Brown

for

7th round pick.

I understand Marleau’s price was steep because he had to be bought out, but Zaitsev’s contract is much worse and he’s less valued than Marleau to me.

I think he’s the better player than Ceci, wish we gotten more for taking him on though. And please get him as far away from Chabot as possible.

 

[BigRig4]

This isn’t a direct discussion point on Zaitsev, but why was Ceci involved in this deal at all?

Why was this deal not constucted like the Marleau deal?

Would’ve loved to see something along the lines of;

Zaitsev, Toronto 2020 2nd round pick, Toronto 2021 2nd round pick or Connor Brown

for

7th round pick.

I understand Marleau’s price was steep because he had to be bought out, but Zaitsev’s contract is much worse and he’s less valued than Marleau to me.

I think he’s the better player than Ceci, wish we gotten more for taking him on though. And please get him as far away from Chabot as possible.

Because I think our org genuinely values Zaitsev unfortunately

 

[Icelevel]

Leaf fans say as long as he’s put in an offensive role he should be ok. In a defensive role he struggled. FWIW

DJ must really like him

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Could very well turn it around here and make the trade a huge win for Ottawa, but I still don't like the risk/reward of it all. I also think that unless there was genuine interest from other teams, we should have gotten a better sweetener based on the risks associated with the contract.

Zaitsev's career backstory is interesting. Superstar on the Russian national team, misused by Toronto and derided by their fan base.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Did I just spot Stephane Da Costa in that video?

 

[SpezDispenser]

Goodness, the goaltending in the khl...not great.

 

[Muuri]

I'm expecting him to be better than his current reputation.

 

[Stacker29]

Nikita Zaitsev is worth his contract. I think in the later years it’ll be considered a steal of a deal.

He’s a capable player that I feel was poorly utilized by Babcock.

The deal is good for all teams, but I think Zaitsev was the best player in it. Hopefully he’s happy in Ottawa.

 

[Icelevel]

I'm expecting him to be better than his current reputation.

Ya he has to be

 

[stempniaksen]

I think he could ultimately end up better than Ceci (we better hope so anyways) but not pigeon holed into the same utilization.

We need the version of the guy that put up 36 points (maybe slightly less if the kids are eating all the PP time) and not the guy who put up back to back 13 point campaigns. Wouldn't mind seeing him given a shot with Chabot at 5 on 5 to see if he can rehab his offence a bit. Leaves Demelo and Hainsey to babysit Wolanin/Brannstrom/Lajoie.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I'm not really expecting anything from him. Lesser team, lesser coaching, lesser support....it's going to be a hard few years for him and the team.