Confirmed with Link: Avs sign Zadorov to 2 year deal ($2.15M AAV)

[Ceremony]

I don't think it's too unreasonable to say that a Zdeno Chara-esque career trajectory awaits for Zadorov, we just have to hope we don't deem him expendable for any prospective Wade Reddens.

 

[Avs71]

I find it interesting that Sakic had him penciled into the top pairing right from the end of last season.

I don't think Zadorov disappoints this year. In fact, I think he brings Sakic into a more positive light. If Duchene doesn't get traded, the media will start saying things like, "Sakic is holding out until he gets a similar return to the O'Reilly trade."

 

[Foppa2118]

2.3m QO and KHL possibility... if Z isn't an established top 4 guy here by the end of this contract, he will not be an Av 19-20. Could be by trade, but I'd guess by just not qualifying him.

I think he'd have to really fall off for the Avs not to be able to find a team that would be willing to trade for a 24 year old Zadorov with a $2.3M QO. Someone will give up something for his upside.

The young guys coming up on this team like Makar, Bigras, Meloche, Timmins, etc will all be pretty young still and unproven. They'll want depth in that position due to how poor it's been before. I think the Avs will be fine with a $2.3M QO, unless he can't even stay in the top 6. I'd be surprised if he can't carve out a role of some sort though.

Z also said straight up that he didn't have any interest this time in the KHL, he wanted to play in the best league in the world. That may change in two years, but I have a feeling it will stay the same.

I see the point you're making, but I think that's a pretty unlikely scenario.

 

[Freaky Styley]

Can't wait to see him this year, probably the guy I'm most excited to watch. I watched Z play in London and he was always one of my favs there. He definitely has untapped offensive potential, he just noticeably tried to focus more on the defensive side of things. He's made great strides there, so once he feels confident he will start pushing the offense more, especially if he's paired with someone like EJ. EJ has unreal bursts where he rushes the puck, but doesn't do it often enough & doesn't have a guy to cover for him. Hopefully as a pair, they can both pick their spots and Zads starts showing off what he did in junior. With a guy like Barrie, he always has to be D first. He's got a bomb of a shot too that needs to be on the PP, that's where he'll get his points.

 

[dahrougem2]

I don't agree with that. It is something that can be fixed, but there have been more stories of Cam Barkers than there have been of PK Subbans.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this then. I think that if the proper work is put in with Zadorov he can be very useful on the PP. We've been yearning for a big threat from the point for some time now and we have a player capable of providing that. The least we can do is work with him to see if he develops that part of his game.

We know what we have in Tyson Barrie. We know what we have in eternal journeyman Mark Barberio. There's still an unknown with Z.

 

[cgf]

Consistency is Z's biggest issue, but I'm not quite even with that. He needs some offensive pop too. He had 4 points over his last 20, 6 over his last 30... Unless a player is absolutely elite in a shutdown role, more has to be expected there. And Z wasn't elite in a shutdown role during that time. Solid, but not elite.

I feel like he did better with the puck than those #s indicate...nevermind if he ever learns to get pucks through on goal...but that's pretty fair. I think he was a little more than solid against the puck, but I am a huge fan of the kid's and there's still room for growth on that end as well. But I also think he'll make similarly big strides this coming season as he was starting to make last season. So by season's end I'm optimistic that we'll see him become a rock defensively, while being the best break out passer of this sad lot, and getting a slightly less terrible amount of his shots on goal...while starting to regain that swagger with the puck that he showed in London, Buffalo & San Antonio.

Can't wait to see him this year, probably the guy I'm most excited to watch. I watched Z play in London and he was always one of my favs there. He definitely has untapped offensive potential, he just noticeably tried to focus more on the defensive side of things. He's made great strides there, so once he feels confident he will start pushing the offense more, especially if he's paired with someone like EJ. EJ has unreal bursts where he rushes the puck, but doesn't do it often enough & doesn't have a guy to cover for him. Hopefully as a pair, they can both pick their spots and Zads starts showing off what he did in junior. With a guy like Barrie, he always has to be D first. He's got a bomb of a shot too that needs to be on the PP, that's where he'll get his points.

Samesies to pretty much this whole post.

 

[henchman21]

We'll have to agree to disagree on this then. I think that if the proper work is put in with Zadorov he can be very useful on the PP. We've been yearning for a big threat from the point for some time now and we have a player capable of providing that. The least we can do is work with him to see if he develops that part of his game.

We know what we have in Tyson Barrie. We know what we have in eternal journeyman Mark Barberio. There's still an unknown with Z.

I'm not saying he can't be useful there, just that he is down a few rungs from the top guys. Barrie and EJ are clearly better and when Makar gets up here, that is one of his specialties. Z will likely always get limited PP time here unless he breaks out in a big way offensively.

I feel like he did better with the puck than those #s indicate...nevermind if he ever learns to get pucks through on goal...but that's pretty fair. I think he was a little more than solid against the puck, but I am a huge fan of the kid's and there's still room for growth on that end as well. But I also think he'll make similarly big strides this coming season as he was starting to make last season. So by season's end I'm optimistic that we'll see him become a rock defensively, while being the best break out passer of this sad lot, and getting a slightly less terrible amount of his shots on goal...while starting to regain that swagger with the puck that he showed in London, Buffalo & San Antonio.

I'm just saying the offense wasn't there. In order for Z to become a legit top 4 guy, some offense has to come along with his defense. If the offense isn't going to come along, the defense needs to take a couple more steps. Z has the pure potential to be a top pairing D, it is about getting that out of him.

 

[Foppberg]

I didn't realize what differing opinions people had on Zadorov. Out of our youth, excluding MacKinnon, Z would be tied for first with Rantanen for most untouchable guy for me.

 

[dahrougem2]

I'm not saying he can't be useful there, just that he is down a few rungs from the top guys. Barrie and EJ are clearly better and when Makar gets up here, that is one of his specialties. Z will likely always get limited PP time here unless he breaks out in a big way offensively.



I'm just saying the offense wasn't there. In order for Z to become a legit top 4 guy, some offense has to come along with his defense. If the offense isn't going to come along, the defense needs to take a couple more steps. Z has the pure potential to be a top pairing D, it is about getting that out of him.

Down a few rungs as of this moment, yes. But neither Barrie nor EJ can fire a puck like Zadorov. It just takes work in practice. If the work isn't put in, he'll never be able to add this element to his game. Just like every other defensemen to come into the league with a booming shot that was wildly inaccurate. The ones who work on it a lot become contributors, especially on the PP. The ones who don't... well, Cam Barker, like you said.

I simply do not think we should be avoiding that part of his game. It's a tool none of our defensemen have. It'd be a shame not to try and develop it.

 

[McMetal]

Having a booming shot isn't really a requirement, or even an asset, for a defenseman on the power play anymore. You just need to get your shot through. In the old days, guys were too afraid to stand in front of those big slappers, but these days you see everybody laying out in front of Shea Weber every night. In some ways, the windup is a disadvantage because you telegraph your intent to the other team so they can jump in front of it. Playing Z on the PP may get him some more points thanks to just touching the puck a lot, but if that's the only way we can kickstart his offense that won't address any underlying problem, just inflate his stats.

I'm hoping that last year was a combination of getting lots of tough minutes and our offense generally being putrid. He's probably not going to ever be a 30+ point defenseman, but I don't think 8 points is his ceiling either.

 

[PAZ]

Having a booming shot isn't really a requirement, or even an asset, for a defenseman on the power play anymore. You just need to get your shot through. In the old days, guys were too afraid to stand in front of those big slappers, but these days you see everybody laying out in front of Shea Weber every night. In some ways, the windup is a disadvantage because you telegraph your intent to the other team so they can jump in front of it. Playing Z on the PP may get him some more points thanks to just touching the puck a lot, but if that's the only way we can kickstart his offense that won't address any underlying problem, just inflate his stats.

I'm hoping that last year was a combination of getting lots of tough minutes and our offense generally being putrid. He's probably not going to ever be a 30+ point defenseman, but I don't think 8 points is his ceiling either.

Completely disagree on the asset portion.

Getting your shot through is more important, but the defensemen with booming shots are the ones that actually score goals. That's a huge asset.

Look at the defensemen that actually score goals. In the past 2 years, the top 10 consists of Burns, Weber, Faulk, Karlsson, Giordano, OEL, Buff, Shatty, Josi, and Ellis.

I'd say the bolded all have a huge cannon of a shot. No, it's not a requirement anymore. But it's still a huge asset to have that type of weapon on the PP.