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Nikita Zadorov Reveals True Colors Towards Vancouver Canucks After Brief Stint with the Team

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Maverick Mitchell
January 21, 2025  (11:18)
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Even in Nikita Zadorov's short stint with the Vancouver Canucks last season, when asked about his time with the team, he did not hold back his emotions when describing the impact it had on him.

Zadorov is currently in the first year of 6 year, $30 million contract, applying a cap hit of $5 million per season with the Boston Bruins.

After a slow start to the year, "Big Z" has finally found his stride is now playing like he knows he can.

After it was decided that the Canucks were not going to qualify an offer to him that would make him stay, he left, but that doesn't mean his time with the Canucks wasn't a major part of his career.

Nikita Zadorov Says Playing for the Canucks Was the Most Fun He Has Ever Had

Wanting to stay with Calgary Flames, Nikita quickly realized his time was not going to last as contract talks were not progressing.

He joined the Canucks 20 games into the 2023-2024 season and ended up having the best experience of his career.

«Those were probably the coolest six months of my career. It's a blast to play hockey there,» Zadorov said. «The fans are awesome, the city is cool, the team is cool, too. The team, the coaching staff - everything was super everywhere you look, there's a Hall of Famer.»

He told the media that his short 6 months with the Canucks heled him grow significantly as a player, attributed a lot of his success and enjoyment tot hat of assistant coach Sergei Gonchar.

«When Sergei Gonchar came in, he worked a lot with all the defensemen individually,» Zadorov said. «I think those six months were a big boost for my career, I changed a lot as a player.»

There was some speculation that Zadorov may have been salty about the Canucks not offering him enough money.

But clearly, his memories as a member of the team are all positive and will always remember it as a time of major growth and success.

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