Canucks' final offer to former defenceman Nikita Zadorov has been revealed

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Cooper Godin
October 18, 2024 (12:51)

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The Vancouver Canucks' final offer to former defenceman Nikita Zadorov has been revealed by Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie & Dhali.

Over the summer, the Vancouver Canucks' roster saw plenty of change with General Manager Patrik Allvin busy on both the trade market and when the free agency window opened up on Canada Day.

Among those to leave the organization as an unrestricted free agent on July 1st was Russian defenceman Nikita Zadorov, who signed a six-year contract worth $30 million ($5 million AAV) with the Boston Bruins.

The Vancouver Canucks and Patrik Allvin tried all they could to keep the former first-rounder in British Columbia, but both sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract.

Recently, the Canucks' final offer to Nikita Zadorov was revealed by Rick Dhaliwal and it's interested because in terms of salary, it wasn't too far off from what he's earning annually with the Boston Bruins for the next six years.

According to Rick Dhaliwal, the Vancouver Canucks offered Nikita Zadorov a four-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $4.6 million. Zadorov and his camp were seeking a fifth-year in any contract with the Canucks and just before hitting the open market, the deal was turned down.

Zadorov, 29, registered 20 points (six goals, 14 assists), 125 penalty minutes and had an even-rating in 75 regular season games being acquired from the Calgary Flames in late-November 2023. The Moscow native was able to take his game to the next level during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, putting up eight points in 13 games.

So far this season, Zadorov has looked like a great addition for the Boston Bruins as he's recorded three assists, 17 penalty minutes and is a plus-two in five games. While there are a number of Canucks fans who would have liked Patrik Allvin to keep Nikita Zadorov around, it was hard for the team to commit that much money to a second or third pairing defenceman over a span of five, or even six years. Instead, Allvin found cheaper options in Derek Forbort and Vincent Desharnais, while acquiring Erik Brannstrom just before the 2024-25 season got underway.