Bruins
It only takes a number of minutes of watching Nikita Zadorov's highlights to grasp why the 29-year-old defenseman was so coveted by Boston in the course of the offseason.
More than simply a troublesome player, the Russian-born defenseman is a presence on the ice and teams take notice each time the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Zadorov leaps over the boards on his next strenuous stroll across the ice.
Boston's decision to offer him a six-year, $30 million contract is actually rooted in his fame as one among the league's most intimidating players – his habit of attacking skaters like a freight train, shutting down post-whistle antics and clearing prime ice is helpful, especially within the postseason against teams just like the Panthers.
With Zadorov, the Bruins now have one of the vital versatile and physically imposing six-man units on the blue line. Zadorov, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, Mason Lohrei and Andrew Peeke are on average 6'3″ tall and weigh 220 lbs.
That growl and grit could be the trademarks of Zadorov's game – and they'll add a much-needed element to Boston's D-Corps.
But Boston isn't going to spend $30 million just to have Zadorov attack opposing players next week. They believe he has a lot more to offer as a standout defender in the top tier, especially if he plays alongside McAvoy going forward.
Zadorov will be the first to tell you that his game is anything but one-dimensional. In fact, he feels he has even more room to grow in his 12th NHL season.
“I can step in offensively when I want to. Of course, defense is my primary priority because I'm physically strong and it's also essential that you simply play hard against them, but I can even run and rating goals sometimes,” Zadorov said. “I'm not an enormous scorer, but I do my best and sometimes defenders on this league need a while to develop. I definitely feel like one among those cases once you take a look at it, I'm recovering and higher yearly.”
In particular, the Bruins hope that Zadorov's performance during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs against Vancouver will be a sign of what's to come in the black and gold jersey.
Although he was touted as a physical deterrent against the Kings and Oilers, he also scored four goals and eight points in 13 playoff games, averaging 20:09 minutes of ice time per game.
Despite his physical profile, Zadorov is far from a liability when it comes to his skating ability and ability to generate offense. While he may not score 50 points or more as quickly as he did last postseason, Zadorov can easily contribute 20 or more points per year while getting minutes on the blue line.
His aggressiveness and tendency to push other players against the glass have proven to be revenge in the past: Zadorov has been criticized both for his problems with penalties (39 last year, fourth most in the NHL) and for his freelance involvement in the D-zone.
But while the Bruins are taking Zadorov's repeated visits to the penalty box in their stride, Don Sweeney stressed that Zadorov is now a much smaller burden in his own zone.
“The presence that Z brings is vital for us. Playing a variety of minutes in the highest 4 against top players within the playoffs brings a certain level of confidence,” Sweeney said. “He's definitely improved his game and possibly develop into slightly clearer about what he can do.”
“Earlier in his profession he had a variety of nights where he tried to make an impact and he managed to do it at times for each teams, like all young players who’re aggressive in that regard. Now he really understands his game and knows what he has to supply.”
Both Sweeney and Zadorov emphasized the positive aspects of having him alongside Charlie McAvoy in the future.
Not only would Zadorov's presence in the top-four groups give Mason Lohrei ample time to develop on his own schedule in a third-pairing spot, but Zadorov's own skating and unique skills could further enhance McAvoy's game.
Underrated areas of Zadorov's profile include his ability to retrieve the puck and move it in transition.
As noted in JFreshHockey’s tracking dataZadorov ranked in the 94th percentile of NHL defensemen in zone entry last season – and also received high marks in zone exits (87th percentile), exit success rate (83rd percentile) and possession prevention (90th percentile).
His ability to disclaim his opponents entry just isn’t surprising considering he is thought for knocking other skaters over after they cross the blue line.
But Zadorov's underrated ability on the ice, complemented by his size, makes him a useful player when it comes to retrieving pucks and carrying them out of his team's zone.
At his best, Matt Grzelcyk was the ideal partner for McAvoy, who quickly got the puck out of the danger zone with his quick skating and clear first passes.
As a direct result of Grzelcyk limiting the time players spent in Boston's half, McAvoy was able to avoid strenuous shifts spent fishing out pucks along the boards and avoiding forechecking pressure.
Even though Zadorov plays the puck a little differently than Grzelcyk, the end result is the same: Boston moves the puck in a hurry and McAvoy has the freedom to be much more forceful at the other end of the ice.
“Z's exits are good … he finds the midfield, which Monty likes to do. I believe his ability to make the primary pass is complementary,” Sweeney said. “Charlie focuses quite a bit on the forecheck and takes some physical hits from that.”
“I believe you’ll be able to possibly fend off a few of those flies at times and likewise complement one another when it comes to puck transport. So those two guys can cover a variety of ice and play in any form of matchups, whether or not they're on the road or not.”
It won't be long before Zadorov makes his presence felt in Boston once the team opens the 12 months in Florida on October 8.
But the Bruins aren't just on the lookout for a battering ram on the ice in Zadorov. They consider there's more to him than that – and that might mean bad news for the remainder of the Atlantic Division.
image credit : www.boston.com