The Blackhawks Should Entertain Offers for Nikita Zadorov

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman, Nikita Zadorov, hasn’t been doing well as of late, with Connor Murphy babysitting his side more often than not.

As the Blackhawks shop their trade chips going into the deadline, they should entertain offers for, if there are any, Nikita Zadorov.

He has flashes of good defensive play, protects his goaltender, and dishes out huge hits for the team to sway the momentum back to their favor. He can produce on the other end of the ice on occasion as well. He is hard to play against more often than not, but the “not” here is pretty… Underwhelming.

On the backcheck last night against Columbus, he had a good position on his man, but he gave up a breakaway chance. Watching his play against Dallas on April 8th, his partner would push him into position on some cases which is eye-catching in a negative way. He is big, but he lost a few board battles against guys who are much smaller than he is.

He is still 25 years of age, though, so his potential may not have been met yet. But with the Blackhawks looking to clear house of UFAs, Zadorov should be considered to be part of the yard sale. Names such as Mattias Janmark, Carl Soderberg, and even Dylan Strome have been flying around the internet, each one has been more effective than Zadorov on a nightly basis.

Don’t get me wrong, Zadorov can make a difference in a game, as he did vs Florida with his huge hit on Patric Hornqvist to sway the momentum to the Blackhawks’ favor. He clears house in front of Kevin Lankinen with a passion, especially after the whistle. As all young players, he has a lot of time to improve, but he has a lot to work on if he wants to be part of the future of this team.

To conclude, Zadorov has had flashes of great play, but he also shows his weaknesses way too much, his lack of positioning being one of them. The Blackhawks may look to clear house at the deadline, and offers on Zadorov should be entertained.