Player Discussion Nikita Zadorov

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

Imagine saying last offseason that we'd be picking up Zadorov and he'd be our best player in the first round. Hahahahahahahahaha.

I got the vibe that the consensus here wanted Chris Tanev, not Z...

Obviously though, we were not going to get both.

 

[IComeInPeace]

He was so much fun to watch last night.

If I’m a Pred, I’m having 2nd thoughts every time I think about cutting towards the net in our end of the ice.

If he plays that way, he’s a guy we can’t afford to let walk away.

But, he has to do it with consistency.

 

[sting101]

Was thinking that maybe we could replace Zadorov with Brendan Dillon on a shorter contract but i'm getting the feeling after seeing how well he's fit in and how much of a leader he's showing that Soucy is the guy that we can replace with a younger cheaper option when his contract is up if needed and that Zadorov should be re signed.

Hronek i would sign for 4yrs to bridge Willander to his 2nd deal as i'm anticipating he's a regular for 25/26

Give him a market deal vs term. There is zero argument for more than 7 million at this stage. His offense has been purely reliant on Hughes and the forwards. His shot is just not a weapon as the accuracy is nowhere near dangerous enough to justify anything more

 

[VanJack]

The amazing thing about Zadorov in these playoffs is that he'll blow up anyone at any time. Proof of that was his devastating check on Roman Josi, probably the Preds best player.

There seems to be unwritten rule in the NHL that if you subject a star player to a hard, but legal check, you'll have to answer the bell. But I guess when you're 6'6" and 250, you set your own rules out there. He even chirped the Nashville bench on the way by.

I don't remember a Canuck d-man having this kind of physical impact on a playoff series. Rugged guys like Edler, Ohlund and even Bieksa would dish out the odd punishment. But nothing like this guy.

At this point, you'd have to say that Zadorov would be a more valuable guy to bring back than Hronek.

 

[arttk]

The amazing thing about Zadorov in these playoffs is that he'll blow up anyone at any time. Proof of that was his devastating check on Roman Josi, probably the Preds best player.

There seems to be unwritten rule in the NHL that if you subject a star player to a hard, but legal check, you'll have to answer the bell. But I guess when you're 6'6" and 250, you set your own rules out there. He even chirped the Nashville bench on the way by.

I don't remember a Canuck d-man having this kind of physical impact on a playoff series. Rugged guys like Edler, Ohlund and even Bieksa would dish out the odd punishment. But nothing like this guy.

At this point, you'd have to say that Zadorov would be a more valuable guy to bring back than Hronek.

He threw an open ice hit against McCarron as well so he’s literally hitting everything from stars to their enforcer and nobody wants to even ring the bell.
I think somebody is going to challenge him next game and he needs to ignore it if it’s somebody like McCarron, just not worth the trade off.

 

[David71]

pay him 5 by 6.5

 

[Jerry the great]

Was thinking that maybe we could replace Zadorov with Brendan Dillon on a shorter contract but i'm getting the feeling after seeing how well he's fit in and how much of a leader he's showing that Soucy is the guy that we can replace with a younger cheaper option when his contract is up if needed and that Zadorov should be re signed.

Hronek i would sign for 4yrs to bridge Willander to his 2nd deal as i'm anticipating he's a regular for 25/26

Give him a market deal vs term. There is zero argument for more than 7 million at this stage. His offense has been purely reliant on Hughes and the forwards. His shot is just not a weapon as the accuracy is nowhere near dangerous enough to justify anything more

Dillon is a slightly bigger and tougher Ian Cole. But he's old (5 years on Zdorov) and getting slow. I really don't think term on Zadorov is going to burn us. He'd play the final year of a 6 year deal at the age Dillon will be for the majority of next season. offer him $4.5 per for 6 years and if you have to add a year to that, it's probably worth it. I don't think he's played his best hockey yet....and what he brings to the table is so important in the playoffs.

 

[lawrence]

Was thinking that maybe we could replace Zadorov with Brendan Dillon on a shorter contract but i'm getting the feeling after seeing how well he's fit in and how much of a leader he's showing that Soucy is the guy that we can replace with a younger cheaper option when his contract is up if needed and that Zadorov should be re signed.

Hronek i would sign for 4yrs to bridge Willander to his 2nd deal as i'm anticipating he's a regular for 25/26

Give him a market deal vs term. There is zero argument for more than 7 million at this stage. His offense has been purely reliant on Hughes and the forwards. His shot is just not a weapon as the accuracy is nowhere near dangerous enough to justify anything more

My friend went to school with Dillon. Very cool humble guy. Down to earth. Wouldn’t mind seeing him as our number 7 dman.

 

[hookshott]

pay him 5 by 6.5

Thanks goodness you are not in charge of the team being cap compliant!

 

[rea]

This. Same thing for Joshua

 

[LemonSauceD]

Zadorov himself doesn’t think he’s a finished product and I’ve been saying this for awhile. I mean there’s a very good chance he takes Cole’s role next year as the 4/5 defenseman and perhaps shows he’s capable of top 4 duties. He’s got the skating, offensive instincts, and defensive awareness to be able to play 20 minutes a night. Is he prone to mistakes? Of course, but Hughes himself makes glaring mistakes.

He’s in the same tier and serves a pretty similar role as a Cernak/Hague/McNabb/Carlo, only he averages 1-2 minutes less and has 20 or so less blocks. McNabb was essentially a bottom pairing defenseman until his 30’s. Hague, Cernak, and Carlo were thrusted into top 4 duties from the moment they made the NHL and due to certain biases and deployment next to elite defenseman, are regarded as top 4 defenseman. Zadorov has much better metrics than Hague + Carlo and offensively provides more than the others I listed above.

If you can get him under $5M by giving him a 6-7 year contract, say $4.6-4.9M x 7, I would do it in a heart beat. If $5M is what it takes, I got no issues with that.

 

[MikeK]

I've said it before. He is built for playoff hockey. He is one of those guys you don't really appreciate until game one of that first series. Then you remember why you like him. As long as it's a realistic contract I would like to see him re-signed. The way the game is played and called in the playoffs makes him a very valuable asset.

 

[Izzy Goodenough]

No don't sign Z.

He is no good because he is not both tiny and fleet.

Best to sign older, less impactful defensemen and plumbers on the 4th line.

They need to resist setting new standards for performance and revert to the good old days of getting pushed around in every Rink from here to Kalamazoo.

 

[TheCanuck]

Zadorov is a meat and potatoes player if I ever seen one