After losing Mark Giordano in the expansion draft, the Calgary Flames went looking for reinforcements on defense last offseason. One such addition was Nikita Zadorov, who they acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks. Let’s take a look at the returns after the first half of the 21/22 season.
The Trade
Date: July 28, 2021
To Calgary Flames:
- Nikita Zadorov (RFA, age 26)
To Chicago Blackhawks
- 2022 3rd Round Pick (TOR)
Initial Value Assessment
With the Blackhawks making significant changes to their defense corps in the offseason of 2021, the Calgary Flames acquired Nikita Zadorov for a 2022 3rd Round Pick. Zadorov’s projected value for the 2021-2022 season was $2.7M and he arrived in Calgary as a restricted free agent. Without a signed contract to use for our assessment, we’ll make the assumption that the Flames could sign his at a league average value so his current value is simply his projected player impact. With no contract inplace for Zadorov, the Flames had no cap space tied up in him, so his future value is zero. Going the other way, the draft pick acquired by Chicago is clearly only future value. Overall, it looks like Calgary got excellent value in this trade.
If you missed the posts on assessing value, you can find them here: Part 1 (Player Impact), Part 2 (Other Factors for Players), Part 3 (Prospects and Picks), Part 4 (Future Value).
Performance Updates
With a contract in place for Zadorov and half a season of actual results since the trade, let’s take a look at the returns so far.
Calgary Flames – Nikita Zadorov
The first order of business for the Flames was to get Zadorov under contract. They signed him to a one year deal with a $3.75M cap hit, roughly $1M over his projected value for the 21/22 season. The spending inefficiency drops Zadorov’s current value by the difference with his cap hit, bringing his current value down to about $1.7M.
As for performance this season, Zadorov was expected to provide a defensive presence in Calgary. He’s done just that, with 5v5 xGA/60 sitting at the 25th percentile right in line with his projected impact. He’s chipped in offensively as well, with individual scoring rates that are trending higher than projected. An on-ice shooting percentage of just 5.88% gives reason to believe both his on-ice GF/60 and A/60 could still trend upward in the second half of the season if his line mates can find the back of the net more frequently.
Chicago Blackhawks – 3rd Round Draft Pick (2022)
A future asset with nothing to evaluate yet.
The Verdict
The Flames received excellent value in the initial trade, although about half the gain was lost due to spending inefficiency on Zadorov’s subsequent contract. Zadorov has been as good as projected, possibly even slightly stronger, and the Flames still come out ahead in this trade for the time being.
There’s still time for the results of this trade to evolve, so we’ll keep our eye on it for future updates. Subscribe to get future check-ins on this trade and others, check-ins on free agent signings, armchair GM plans, and other updates from around the NHL.
