On yesterday’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal were joined by show producers Grady Sas and Lachlan Irvine to mock-draft the All-Star teams ahead of this weekend’s festivities, and later broke down the recent trade rumours surrounding Nikita Zadorov.
All 4 members drafted a team of their own, and this is how things shook out:
The guys then moved on to the Zadorov rumours, with the big defenceman’s name being brought up by a few NHL insiders as a potential cap-clearing move.
“Drance and I were working on an article, doing trade tiers, and Zadorov was in a section we had called ‘not moving unless there’s a blockbuster,’ so we expect he’s most likely to stick around,” said Harm. “However, if the Canucks decide they want two marquee additions, one up front and one on the back-end, you’re going to have to move out another contract besides Kuzmenko. Myers is an option, and we included him in that tier with Zadorov of ‘probably not moving unless the Canucks make a couple of blockbusters.’ The thing to keep in mind with Myers is he has a ten-team no-trade list, so that could provide complications if the Canucks go down that route. I’m not shocked (about the rumours). I don’t think the Canucks need a back-end upgrade; I think they’re fine making a top-six acquisition and leaving the blue line as is, especially because I like Zadorov as a player. In addition to his physicality and toughness, which matter in the playoffs, he moves the puck well enough for a bottom-four defenceman. I’ve seen a lot of plays where, because of his skating, he can beat the first layer of forecheck pressure. I think he’s been a decent fit. That doesn’t mean I’m in the camp that’s saying the Canucks should extend him, but I think he’d be a useful piece to keep for the playoffs.”
“I know he’s fallen out of favour a little bit lately- we’ve seen some benchings, and we’ve seen his ice time more limited, but this is still a guy I want around in the playoffs,” Quads added. “I said this yesterday, and I’ll say it again: I get shedding cap space might be important because they might want to get an upgrade. I’d be curious who that upgrade might be. If he’s part of a blockbuster, maybe you’re fine with it, but if it’s just to clear cap space and go get another guy- I don’t hate Zadorov’s fit on this team to the extent that I’m thinking, “you need to go get someone else.” It’s not a Kuzmenko situation. With Kuzmenko, it’s, ‘He doesn’t fit on this team; this team is trying to compete this year, they don’t have time for Kuzmenko to go through a sophomore slump, and they don’t have time to wait for him to figure it out.’ So we expect Kuzmenko to be moved. Zadorov brings a lot in terms of just his size and intimidation factor; that matters a lot in the playoffs, and I would think twice before moving on from Nikita Zadorov.
“Even if you reduce his minutes and you don’t fully trust him, it’s totally fine to have him on your third pair,” continued Harm. “Maybe it’s not the role he thought he was getting when he came here, but that’s a good player to have on your third pair. Not to mention if you end up in a situation where mid-game a guy goes down and you need somebody on your bottom pair to elevate and play 18-19 minutes; Zadorov is the perfect guy to do that.”
You can watch the full replay of today’s show in the video below:
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