Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov has reportedly requested a trade – and the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be high on his list of preferred destinations.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report the news of Zadorov’s trade request on Friday night, shortly after the Maple Leafs defeated the Flames 5–4 in a shootout at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Not long after Weekes shared his report, The Athletic‘s Chris Johnston relayed that Zadorov “would welcome a move to Toronto.” Vancouver hockey insider Rick Dhaliwal has also reported that the Canucks are a team likely to be on Zadorov’s list, although the 28-year-old defender does not have any trade or movement protection.
Zadorov’s agent, Dan Milstein, posted about Zadorov multiple times on social media Friday evening before news of the trade request became public, posting a clip of Zadorov throwing a big hit on Leafs forward Tyler Bertuzzi and criticizing the Flames for reducing Zadorov’s ice time.
“I don’t think so,” Milstein posted, replying to an X user asking whether the Flames could keep Zadorov. “Not when the best D barely gets the ice time....”
Zadorov logged just 15:33 in the overtime loss to Toronto on Friday. Among Flames defenders, only Nick DeSimone (11:55) saw less ice time in the losing effort.
Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Zadorov are all slated to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2023–24 season. Zadorov makes the least money of the three, having signed a two-year, $3.75 million AAV contract to remain with the Flames during the 2022 offseason.
The Flames originally acquired Zadorov from the Chicago Blackhawks prior to the 2021–22 season. The 6-foot-6 defender has appeared in 579 career NHL games with the Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, and Buffalo Sabres, collecting 42 goals and 131 points; he’s added four goals and 11 points in 45 playoff contests.
Zadorov scored his first goal of the 2023–24 season in the loss to Toronto. He racked up a career-high 14 goals while averaging 18:41 in 82 games with the Flames in 2022–23.
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