The Boston Bruins landed a prized player in free agency by signing former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov on July 1.
The Bruins inked Zadorov to a massive six-year, $30 million contract with a cap hit of $5 million per season, reinforcing their defense with a premier player.
Zadorov jumped on a Zoom call after the announcement and shared his thoughts on the transaction, including issuing a respectful warning to his new fans about a former Boston hockey legend.
“I’m not even close to (Zdeno Chara‘s level) and I want to start with, like, in my past teams, people were calling me ‘Big Z’,” Zadorov said when asked if he models his game after Chara’s. “Please do not ever call me ‘Big Z’ now.”
Despite Chara starting his career with the New York Islanders and then playing for the Ottawa Senators, he cemented his legacy in Boston by playing for the Bruins from 2006 through 2020.
Zadorov acknowledged he learned a lot from watching Chara. However, he believes there is no point in comparing them as he is far from matching Chara’s level of play.
“I feel like I’m not even close to the half of the ‘Big Z,’” Zadorov said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s one of the best defensemen of all time. There’s definitely a lot to learn from him. Obviously, he was one of my role models growing up because of his size and his physical play and everything. The leader he is, I think I can learn a lot from him. That could be a good time for sure.”
Zdeno Chara Retired A Bruin at Age 45
Boston Bruins legendary defenseman Zdeno Chara, known as “Big Z,” announced his retirement in September 2022 after playing 21 seasons in the NHL and leading the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Chara, a hulking 6-foot-9 blueliner from Slovakia, hung up his skates at age 45 after spending 14 seasons in Boston, sandwiched by stints with the Islanders, Senators, Capitals, and a final year with the Islanders.
The defenseman won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best blueliner in 2009. He racked up 237 goals and 523 assists for 750 points in 1,880 regular-season and playoff games combined. Chara also appeared in six All-Star games, five of them as a member of the Bruins.
Bruins Make Huge Splash, Land Two Former Canucks
The Bruins wasted no time addressing their roster gaps on July 1, the opening day of free agency. Boston added two former Canucks stars, signing Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, nearly completing their roster for the upcoming season just hours into free agency.
According to Daily Faceoff’s depth charts, the Bruins will deploy Zadorov on the left side of their blue line and Lindholm as the top-line center alongside David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha.
Lindholm topped Zadorov’s contract with a seven-year, $54.25 million deal with an annual average value of $7.75 million. After the deal was announced, Lindholm addressed fans’ expectations of him taking over the role vacated by the now-retired Patrice Bergeron.
“I don’t want to compare myself or anything like that,” Lindholm said on a Zoom call on July 1. “But I think I can bring a little bit of what he did. I want to try to come there and bring my game, come back to the player I know I can be, and hopefully help this team achieve a Stanley Cup.”
Did the Bruins Overpay for Zadorov & Lindholm?
According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic, the Bruins were interested in trading for Lindholm ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. Although they didn’t end up trading for him then, they finally signed him on July 1.
Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic graded Lindholm’s deal with the Bruins as an “A” while giving Zadorov’s contract a “B+.”
“(The Bruins) got (Lindholm) at a price that was less than what Lindholm wanted to sign an extension for with the Flames. Lindholm originally was targeting a contract in the $9 million per season range,” Duhatschek wrote. “So, probably Lindholm left money on the table. Happily for the Bruins, they got him at good value.”
Regarding Zadorov, Duhatschek believes the Bruins won by acquiring the blueliner from Vancouver at the price they paid.
“After Quinn Hughes, Zadorov was probably Vancouver’s second-most-impactful defenseman in the playoffs,” Duhatschek wrote. “Considering the dollars that the other high-end defensemen were getting in free agency, the $5 million AAV on Zadorov seems about right.”
After the first day of free agency on July 1, the Bruins still have $8.6 million in cap space with 22 of 23 players under contract.
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