Nikita Zaitsev - A Monthly Glance

[m1ker]

Zeits is a beast blasting the puck out on pk tho

 

[A1LeafNation]

I’d like to see Zaitsev with a guy like Pietrangelo here. There would be less pressure on him and Hainsey.

Rielly Pietrangelo 25 min
Gardiner Zaitsev 18 min
Dermott Hainsey 17 min
Ozhiganov

 

[WTFMAN99]

I’d like to see Zaitsev with a guy like Pietrangelo here. There would be less pressure on him and Hainsey.

Rielly Pietrangelo 25 min
Gardiner Zaitsev 18 min
Dermott Hainsey 17 min
Ozhiganov

Reality is I think we can only get Pietrangelo here if Zaitsev went the other way because of the cap implications though.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Reality is I think we can only get Pietrangelo here if Zaitsev went the other way because of the cap implications though.

The Leafs would need someone to replace him though. Even if Hainsey does it this year, I doubt the Leafs would really want him to do it next year too.

 

[WTFMAN99]

The Leafs would need someone to replace him though. Even if Hainsey does it this year, I doubt the Leafs would really want him to do it next year too.

100% correct. My prized choice the 3rd pairing Bortuzzo next year went and re-signed with the Blues unfortunately.

If we went ahead with the hypothetical acquisition..

Rielly-Pietrangelo
Dermott-X
Rosen-X / Oz
Oz / Holl

X options would be Stralman, McQuaid, Coburn and Petrovic. Other options would be trade. Only Stralman would likely be up for taking over the 2nd pairing spot most likely.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

100% correct. My prized choice the 3rd pairing Bortuzzo next year went and re-signed with the Blues unfortunately.

If we went ahead with the hypothetical acquisition..

Rielly-Pietrangelo
Dermott-X
Rosen-X / Oz
Oz / Holl

X options would be Stralman, McQuaid, Coburn and Petrovic. Other options would be trade.

I think Liljegren, if he returens strong from injury, could be the 3rd pairing guy with Oz as the extra. Holl can take Liljegren's spot in the AHL beside Sandin.

My 2nd pairing X, until I am convinced otherwise or is no longer available, will always be Martinez. Whether we keep Zaitsev, or trade him for Pietrangelo and need another top 4 RD, he seems to be a perfect fit for me. I hope we trade Gardiner to get him, but I know trading Gardiner (even if it was for an upgrade for this year and in the future) will not happen... For who knows what reason.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I think Liljegren, if he returens strong from injury, could be the 3rd pairing guy with Oz as the extra. Holl can take Liljegren's spot in the AHL beside Sandin.

My 2nd pairing X, until I am convinced otherwise or is no longer available, will always be Martinez. Whether we keep Zaitsev, or trade him for Pietrangelo and need another top 4 RD, he seems to be a perfect fit for me. I hope we trade Gardiner to get him, but I know trading Gardiner (even if it was for an upgrade for this year and in the future) will not happen... For who knows what reason.

I think if we want Pietrangelo then Liljegren likely goes the other way, if he doesn't I will be shocked. I think our time line calls for a defenseman like Pietrangelo now rather than waiting the 3-5 years it will take for Liljegren to become an impact top 4 RHD *If* he is going to become one.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Given his age how much “growth” can be realistically expected though?

I guess I have a lot more patience if he was like 22, instead of being 27 (3 years older than Rielly).

Normally, none. When it's a mental issue? Hard to say.

 

[Stephen]

He's just a fairly dumb, extremely low panic threshold defenseman who will gift you the puck if he senses physical danger.

 

[justafan22]

NTC kicks in july 1

Avoid!

 

[The Kessel Run]

I so want him to succeed, but he's just below average. Nothing to be done about it.

 

[A1LeafNation]

I think if we want Pietrangelo then Liljegren likely goes the other way, if he doesn't I will be shocked. I think our time line calls for a defenseman like Pietrangelo now rather than waiting the 3-5 years it will take for Liljegren to become an impact top 4 RHD *If* he is going to become one.

McDonagh didn't cost a Liljegren level prospect.

 

[Muston Atthews]

He’s not an offensive d man and he’s not a defensive d man. He can’t get the shot through and he can’t make a breakout pass. He had so much potential

 

[seanlinden]

Reality is I think we can only get Pietrangelo here if Zaitsev went the other way because of the cap implications though.

Not necessarily. It depends on who you give up for Pietrangelo.

Assuming it's Nylander, the dollars work quite well.... Gardiner gone after this year, resign Hainsey at a reduced rate, or bring in a comparable veteran, and you're basically left with the following:

Rielly-Zaitsev
Dermott-Pietrangelo
Hainsey-Oz
7th spot up for grabs.

 

[WTFMAN99]

McDonagh didn't cost a Liljegren level prospect.

A cap dump didn't go to NYR either. Plus Hajek+Howeden > Liljegren. 2 prospects.

Not necessarily. It depends on who you give up for Pietrangelo.

Assuming it's Nylander, the dollars work quite well.... Gardiner gone after this year, resign Hainsey at a reduced rate, or bring in a comparable veteran, and you're basically left with the following:

Rielly-Zaitsev
Dermott-Pietrangelo
Hainsey-Oz
7th spot up for grabs.

Forget who had it before, someone probably knows but it was hinted that maybe Pietrangelo was thrown at the Leafs as a return for Nylander and the Leafs still re-signed Nylander. So I don't think the team has interest in that type of deal right now

 

[Thread The Needle]

If he could make a pass, that'd be great.

The best ones are when he pressures himself into passing. He is the Don Quixote of our blueline.

 

[Prospero]

The best ones are when he pressures himself into passing. He is the Don Quixote of our blueline.

He is the Don Quixote, I agree, La Man of La Mancha. I can't stand for the folks who've passed it by. They need to see this film!!!

He's taking sneaky shots lately, like a sniper, though.

You heard it here first.

PRAVDA.

Canada.

Super-sneaky-though.

[SPOILER ALERT]

[SPOILER ALERT]

[SPOILER ALERT]

stop this, NATO, we surrender.

Zaitsev defection dismantled us.

signed, Putin.

 

[Big Cactus]

McDonagh didn't cost a Liljegren level prospect.

Yes but Peitrangelo is much better than McDonagh.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Yes but Peitrangelo is much better than McDonagh.

You think? They are both a little mediocre now.

 

[Big Cactus]

You think? They are both a little mediocre now.

I believe so. He was top 10 in Norris voting last season. Right now he’s on a team that’s performing like garbage and a goalie that can’t make a save. I’m not surprised hes having a ‘down’ year.

 

[FerrisRox]

McDonagh didn't cost a Liljegren level prospect.

Brett Howden is a Liljegren level prospect.

 

[CelticDruid]

Zeits is a beast blasting the puck out on pk tho

Zaitsev thinks that he not on the PK and is playing 5x5 lol

 

[LeafGrief]

He's been pretty good defensively as of late. Considering how much time that we've spent discussing how we need a defensive RHD, I am surprised that Zaitsev does not get more support around here. Frankly, at ES the Gardiner-Zaitsev pair has been excellent defensively. Zaitsev is playing very tough minutes (which he's not suited for, this is classic Babcock trial-by-fire defense coaching) and is handling the defensive responsibilities as well as he can. Gardiner has looked great defensively too, but that's a different thread. In my opinion, Zaitsev is a very solid defender who can succeed in second pairing minutes. Top pairing minutes are too hard for him, but he's at least treading water defensively.

However, this comes with major "BUT"s. The first is that his metrics are absolutely ass. My own theory on this is that while his defensive numbers are good (his corsi against is quite reasonable considering the minutes and competition that he plays) his offensive numbers are abysmal. So while he's good enough at preventing shots against, he is a negative at producing shots, which means negative corsi and xGF numbers. This is very much a result of the second issue, which is that the guy just cannot make a breakout pass to save his life. His defensive zone draw rates are probably increased because he ices the puck so damn much. I've been a fan of the Gardiner-Zaitsev pairing because Gardiner's strengths as a transition player help cover up Z's weaknesses, so even though Zaitsev's metrics are negative, the pair actually does quite well together. It's not ideal, but the sum is greater than the individual parts.

At this point I'm mostly hoping that Zaitsev continues to refine his defensive game and gets more comfortable with in-zone passes to cut down on the icings. His contract isn't great, but if he's a defensive stalwart then at least he's a useful piece that we can keep in our top4.

 

[Cor]

I'm kinda interested in tracking Zaitsev now.

Saturday's Game Against Florida: A 'Good' Game. (His name is in the group of like 3 or 4 names in between Johnsson and Hainsey.

Lindholm, Brown and Ennis had a poor game. Dermott had a rare bad game in terms of xGF/xGA.

Matthews-Johnsson-Kappy were the Leafs best defensive line, while Hyman, Marner and Tavares allowed the most xGA. Kadri, Marleau, Nylander were the best overall xGF/xGA line.

 

[6ix]

He’s really good at icing the puck off missed exit passes.