Friedman drops massive update on Zadorov: Willing to take a pay cut?

On the 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared that he believes Zadorov has a number he wants, that may be less than he could get on the open market as of July 1st.

Friedman added that Vancouver isn't too far away from Zadorov's number, but since the Russian defenceman is willing to cut them a break, the team needs to find a way to get to his number.

While the two sides still have a ways to go before Zadorov puts pen-to-paper, his agent Dan Milstein shot down a report on Thursday from Iain MacIntyre that there was significant traction in talks on a new contract.

Zadorov, 29, was solid for the Vancouver Canucks since his trade from the Calgary Flames in November 2023. In 54 regular season games, the Moscow native had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) and followed that up with eight points in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

It's going to be interesting to see if both the Canucks and Zadorov's camp will be able to come to an agreement before the free agent market opens on July 1st. He became a very valuable piece on the Canucks' blueline and someone that Allvin and his staff need to prioritize in the next little while so they can get a contract signed.

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