Former Flames Series: Defender's Red Flags Continue With New Team

Former Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov signed this past offseason with the sixth club of his NHL career; an Original Six franchise. Signing a six-year deal with the Boston Bruins at $5 million per season, the deal might be showing some red flags early.

The Bruins needed to bolster their blueline this offseason and when they saw all 6-foot-6 of Zadorov available, they got him signed. Locking him up until the 2031 season, he looks to be a fixture of the Bruins' back end for a while — adding to the left side, an area of weakness, with some snarl to the lineup.

Early in the first year of his deal, however, some underlying numbers suggest the deal could age poorly.

In the 2024-25 season, Zadorov has 11 points in 48 games played. Known more as a defensive defenseman, he isn't being deployed to score points. His role is clear, and the fact he is leading the NHL in penalty minutes shows he's bringing the toughness he was brought in to provide.

That being said, he's on a 19-point pace over a full season; his lowest pace since 2020-21. Despite not needing to be a scorer, that regression is troubling given his abilities, and the team would love a few more points from him.

The Russian defender has a few other areas of concern on his stats sheet. His shots on goal per 60 (SOG/60) is 3.7 which is a little over a shot lower than his average the past three seasons at about 4.8 SOG/60.

Similarly, Zadorov's average points per 60 minutes in the past three seasons was about 0.9. This year, he's seen a drop in production with 0.7 PTS/60.

The Bruins aren't getting great defense from many players right now, and losing Charlie McAvoy to injured reserve won't help. Skating the most with McAvoy so far this season, Zadorov has been paired with Andrew Peeke since. Sitting eighth in the league in goals against, the defenders still in the lineup need to find a way to clean up their zone.

Related: Flames Veteran Wants GM To Be a Trade Deadline Buyer — But Will Team Change Course?

The Flames moved on from Zadorov when GM Craig Conroy traded him to the Vancouver Canucks in November 2023. In the trade, a 2024 fifth-round pick, and 2026 third-round pick were sent for the defender's services.

Conroy opted to flip the fifth-rounder to the San Jose Sharks for 24-year-old defender Nikita Okhotiuk. He tallied 12 points in 67 career NHL games but is currently not under contract and has since returned to his home country Russia to play in the KHL.

With a substantial contract to live up to in Boston, Calgary will be happy they moved on when they did.

Hopefully 'Big Z' can find his game with his new team as they currently hold onto the second wildcard in the East. If things don't turn around, talks of the Big Bad Bruins finally declining will continue to echo throughout the league.