The fire sale is officially getting underway in Calgary. With the team buried in the basement of the Pacific Division and the league, general manager Craig Conroy has work to do. There are key players with expiring contracts, especially on the blue line. One of those players is Nikita Zadorov.
After the matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs Friday night, Zadorov reportedly requested a trade. Quickly after that, the Devils were identified as one of teams with “strong interest.”
Does Zadorov fit? How can they make it work? Let’s examine.
Player Profile
Nikita Zadorov is a big body and a physical defenseman. He stands at six-foot-six and weighs 248 pounds. Zadorov plays as big as he is and uses his big frame to his advantage. He is your typical shutdown defenseman who can log top four minutes.
Zadorov has played over 500 games and has played for four different teams. His largest stint came with the Colorado Avalanche but he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres. Over the course of his career, he has scored 42 goals and 189 points.
As you can see via the above player card spanning the previous three seasons, the term shutdown defenseman certainly does apply. He also hasn’t had a bad impact offensively either.
How He Fits On the Devils
Zadorov is a left-shot defenseman and plays on the left side. As currently constructed, the Devils left side is filled with Jonas Siegenthaler, Kevin Bahl, and Luke Hughes. Also, Hughes can play on his off side which helps create flexibility with the pairs. Basically, if a move like this was created, Brendan Smith – who has struggled dearly this season – would exit, and Zadorov would enter. A huge upgrade.
To start the 2023-24 season, the Devils have taken a step back defensively. They currently sit 29th allowing 3.69 goals against per game. This is not all on the defenseman, as the goaltending has not been strong. Specially, the Devils as a team are allowing the eighth-most expected goals against per 60 minutes. Adding Zadorov makes sense and the team needs to tighten up more defensively.
Zadorov is a big defenseman and is not afraid to be physical. The Devils could use more sandpaper and grit into their lineup, especially on the blue line. They addressed that same physicality issue by acquiring Timo Meier at the trade deadline last season. General manager Tom Fitzgerald could pull the trigger once again to help fill that void.
Can A Trade Work?
It could be a challenge but not as much of a challenge as you may think. Zadorov comes with a cap hit of $3.75 million and the Devils have just $1 million in cap space. However, there are certainly alternative avenues to create money. Whether that be Calgary retaining money, New Jersey sending money out via assets, or additional use of the long-term injured reserve. Cap space should not be an issue here.
It remains to be seen what the Devils or other teams may need to part ways with to land him. However, the Devils certainly have the ammunition to do so. The 28-year-old being a rental certainly should help decrease the price.