Canucks reporter shares his take on Nikita Zadorov and the Canucks: Not positive

With their cap situation pretty tight at the moment, the Canucks won't be able to re-sign all of their pending unrestricted free agents, as we've known for a little while now. The free agent window is set to open in exactly one week, and it appears that one of Vancouver's UFAs won't return unless something gets done this week.

While appearing on Sekeres and Price, Patrick Johnston of The Province said that if Nikita Zadorov is not signed this week and it gets to July 1, July 1ikely won't be returning to the Vancouver Canucks and will sign elsewhere.

Zadorov, 29, was acquired by the Canucks back in November 2023 from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick. The Moscow native appeared in 54 games during the regular season for the Canucks, putting up 14 points (five goals, nine assists), 102 penalty minutes and was a plus-six.

During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Zadorov took his game to the next level and looked like Vancouver's best defenceman on some nights. In 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he had eight points (four goals, four assists), 26 penalty minutes and was a plus-three.

Losing Nikita Zadorov isn't going to sit well with Vancouver Canucks fans. General Manager Patrik Allvin will now need to enter the free agent market to seek a defenceman to play on the team's second pair. Zadorov isn't the only defenceman who played significant minutes for the Canucks that is set to become a UFA, as both Ian Cole and Tyler Myers are set to hit the open market next week. Cole and Myers each averaged over 18 minutes of TOI per night for Vancouver last season, so finding replacements for cheap that can eat up those minutes might not be easy.

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