Way, way back on Nov. 10, in the aftermath of a shootout loss in Toronto, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that Calgary Flames blueliner Nikita Zadorov had requested a trade. (That report coincided with several tweets by Zadorov’s agent, Dan Milstein, expressing discontent with Zadorov’s usage in Calgary.)
Now, nearly three weeks after that reported request, Weekes is reporting that a trade market is developing for Zadorov’s services.
Among the suitors for @NHLFlames D Zadorov ; @NYIslanders , @NJDevils , @DallasStars and @MapleLeafs .#HockeyTwitter
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) November 28, 2023
Given the Beauvllier Trade to @NHLBlackhawks , I’m told you can add the @Canucks to the list of interested suitors in pursuit of D Zadorov from the @NHLFlames . #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/sxKCjwbG0w
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) November 29, 2023
The 28-year-old Zadorov is in the final year of a two-year deal that carries a $3.75 million cap hit and, upon expiry on July 1, would make the Russian blueliner an unrestricted free agent. In 21 games this season, primarily playing on the third pairing, Zadorov has a goal and six points.
Assuming that the teams that Weekes threw out there are fairly accurate, here’s how they stack up (stick-taps to Cap Friendly for all the pertinent details):
Right now, the big challenge for any Zadorov trade would be cap space. Aside from the two teams currently using LTIR – who would at some point need to figure out a way out of LTIR if they want to activate those injured players – everybody that Weekes cited as a suitor would need to send money back to the Flames to make the cap math work.
That’s not to say that the Flames wouldn’t be interested or wouldn’t conduct such a trade, but player-for-pick is fairly clean from a cap management standpoint for both teams, while more complicated swaps would be more complex to navigate and pull off.
We’ll see how things go. With the Flames currently a game below .500 at 9-10-3 and firmly sitting in the playoff picture, who knows if the Flames currently have an appetite to prioritize trades.
The Flames are back in action on Thursday when they host the Dallas Stars.
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