Unexpected destination for Nikita Zadorov following trade request

The NHL rumour mill is linking the Calgary Flames defenceman to the Maple Leafs but Zadorov, who will become a UFA next July, could end up in Tampa Bay.

Video Transcript

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Another Alberta team, the Calgary Flames, may be dealing with a trade request on their hands with Nikita Zadorov, a reported trade request going out over this weekend. His agent, Daniel Milstein, going to Twitter to point out his ice time not necessarily looking all that great. What did you guys think of Nikita Zadorov?

You know what? I'll throw it to I think like, who, which of you three would want to take this topic, actually, with Nikita Zadorov and the fact that he may very well want out of the Calgary Flames? He didn't deny the trade request, mind you. But it sure seems like it's going to be the end of the road for him there.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: I'll tell you, man. I mean, look, I mean, I think without playing too much inside baseball, the speed of it was really alarming, just like how fast the demand came out. You know, again, not to really break news that we aren't really supposed to tell. But there were several Angel insiders trying to see if the trade was going to happen at midnight last night.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Hell, yeah. I was definitely-- I was definitely waiting for that.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: We saw--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I was trying to figure out what was going on.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: We almost saw a Nikita Zadorov trade get broken in real time. And then it-- you know, discussion seemed to calm down.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I don't know how close it was, mind you. But, definitely--

ARUN SRINIVASAN: Like, there were there were discussions certainly. Like there--

JULIAN MCKENZIE: They're trying to figure out, like, what's happening after that news happens? Like one minute, you're thinking OK, it's just complaints about ice time. The next moment it is that but also Nikita Zadorov is a pending UFA.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: Yeah.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: The route for him getting traded was there anyway. People are just wondering if this just accelerates the process.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: Yeah, like there's some validity to that. I mean, I do think that Dan Milstein was trying to agitate the flames as best as possible. I think Nikita Zadorov-- I mean, I didn't really look at his underlying numbers from that game. But he has a splash play and that huge open ice hit he landed on Bertuzzi.

And I think that brought some attention and maybe sort of stimulated the idea that a team like the Leafs or a team like the New Jersey Devils maybe need that sort of guy who can hit in the open ice and bring physicality with some secondary scoring. He's an intriguing player. And I think any team that pursues him, they're sort of looking at-- like, the free agency stuff, I don't think it really matters that much if you're pursuing him.

You have the right to first refusal, essentially, and probably are going to sign him to a long-term deal rather than a rental. Yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense to a number of teams. I mean, it's rare to get a guy with his sort of like skill set and physicality and a guy who plays with physicality without sort of sacrificing defensive positioning, I think.

So he is a plus asset on a Flames team that seems to be sort of stuck. I mean, I think the common thinking around the Flames is that they probably have overvalued their core a little bit, relative to the rest of the league. And now is the time to make some changes. Dan Milstein, he also represents a ton of other Russian players. He seemingly has a great relationship with Julien BriseBois. So not to speculate, but I think the Lightning could get in the mix, too.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Interesting, even with their salary cap issues, I mean, they don't necessarily have the most space in it.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: Salary cap's overrated, man. I know it's a real part of HL but make moves first, figure out the cap later.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: Yo, salary cap is overrated. Put that on a t-shirt.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: Put that on a t-shirt.

JULIAN MCKENZIE: I think you just came up with a really brilliant idea. And I think you need to run to a trademark office as soon as this recording is over.

ARUN SRINIVASAN: Well, then, let's do it man. In between soft power and defcon one, we're going to be doing our next show from the United Nations building.