On Friday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Calgary Flames.
For Toronto Maple Leafs fans, it was an exciting win despite the defensive collapse. For the Flames, it was something else entirely.
Following the contest, NHL broadcaster and former goaltender, Kevin Weekes, posted on social media that Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov is looking for a change in scenery and has requested a trade.
While the loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs may have been the impetus for the trade request, it could be the Leafs who help make Zadorov’s desires come to fruition. In fact, a trade between the Flames and Leafs could help both franchises and be the answer to a pair of the Leafs problems.
Toronto Maple Leafs Potentially Trading for Nikita Zadorov
The Leafs are currently stuck with John Klingberg, the defenseman they signed this offseason to a one-year, $4.15M contract.
He hasn’t been the valuable addition they were hoping for. Instead, he has been one of the worst players in the entire NHL. He needs to be taken off this team as fast as possible.
This sets up the opportunity for a swap with the Flames.
According to Cap Friendly, Zadorov is also in the final year of his deal with a cap hit of $3.75M. A trade of this kind would help the Leafs walk away from a bad acquisition, helping solve that problem, while also freeing up an additional $400k in salary cap space.
Salary cap relief is an ongoing struggle for the Leafs and any help would be welcome.
Zadorov would also be a good replacement for Klingberg. The Leafs are a team filled with puck-movers and lack physicality from their blue-line. Zadorov is a 6’8 defense-first player who would significantly address both the Leafs defensive problems and their lack of physical defensemen.
This season, in 12 games, he’s collected a goal and four assists. Last season, in 82 contests, Zadorov scored 14 goals and added seven assists for a total of 21 points. He has some offense, but his main thing is being huge and decent defensively.
Nikita Zadorov, who's requested a trade from Calgary, is a physical defence-first blueliner who's an above-average skater. Throws a lot of hits but his playstyle does land him in the box pretty frequently. #Flames pic.twitter.com/2OxuPUkduB
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 11, 2023
He also sabotages his value by taking a ton of penalties, and is, overall, just an average to slightly above average player. That is still a big upgrade over Klingberg for slightly less money.
Obviously the Leafs would have to include an asset to make this a fair trade, and it would be important not to overpay, but Zadorov is a great target who looks like he’d fit very well on the Leafs.
The biggest difference, however, is that Zadorov isn’t a defensive liability. While he does, at times, take unnecessary risks, he is still able to competently play his position. He would be a very good 3rd pairing defender for the Leafs, and could potentially get ahead of Jake McCabe on the depth chart if McCabe doesn’t drastically improve from his rocky playoffs and worse start to the season.
With the Flames brass already in Toronto for the Friday night clash, it’s possible that they’ve already met with Brad Treliving and his team. If not, they should begin to talk.
A trade is all about helping the fortune of all everyone involved. A deal of this kind does exactly that.