Nikita Zadorov reveals the disrespectful negotiations that forced him to leave the Canucks
Photo credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
This past summer, the Vancouver Canucks lost two significant free agents, and Nikita Zadorov has now revealed the reasons behind his departure.
Former Canuck defenseman Nikita Zadorov spoke candidly about leaving Vancouver and expressed his desire to rejoin the team in a recent episode of the What Chaos! podcast. Nevertheless, Zadorov called the Canucks' offer "a little disrespectful" because the numbers simply didn't add up.
"Right now, it's probably a little bit disrespectful to talk about your exes," Zadorov said with a laugh on a recent episode of the What Chaos! Podcast. "We wanted to stay at the start. We tried to sort it out but there's a point in negotiations when you check boxes and then a couple things didn't go the way we wanted to, and [it] kind of felt a little bit disrespectful, too."
"We disagreed on the details before the playoffs and postponed the negotiations,» Zadorov said at the time. "After the playoffs, when I was in Vancouver, we tried to reach an agreement, but unfortunately, it didn't work Tocchet has a great system and is a great teacher who helps young players develop their skills. His analysis is excellent, and he understands how to prepare his players for each game."
"We disagreed on the details before the playoffs and postponed the negotiations,» Zadorov said at the time. "After the playoffs, when I was in Vancouver, we tried to reach an agreement, but unfortunately, it didn't work Tocchet has a great system and is a great teacher who helps young players develop their skills. His analysis is excellent, and he understands how to prepare his players for each game."
The tall Russian blue-liner's return was always a long shot, even though many Canucks supporters were holding out hope that he would, but Vancouver was spending their cap space elsewhere, most notably on forward Jake DeBrusk.
In the end, Zadorov signed a six-year, $30 million contract with the Boston Bruins; it appears that this was significantly more than the cap-constrained Canucks were willing to give. According to rumors, Vancouver was only able to offer Zadorov a contract worth about $4 million annually-a sum that, given his stellar season and postseason accomplishments, he probably felt was undervalued. It's understandable that the tough defenseman felt the Canucks' offer was a bit of a slap in the face given that he had just finished a career-high stock entering free agency.
Zadorov also discussed his trip to Boston in the interview, stating,
"Me and Elias Lindholm were here with Vancouver and got to spend a couple of days in the city, and we said, 'man, it would be nice to play here.'"
In the end, Lindholm and Zadorov both signed long-term contracts with the Bruins, solidifying the belief that the city's attraction and the team's promising future played a role in their decisions.
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