Leafs confirmed to have had an offer on the table for Zadorov; here's why the deal fell apart
The Toronto Maple Leafs missed out on one of their rumoured trade targets when hulking defenseman Nikita Zadorov was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a third-round pick in 2026 and the fifth-round pick in 2024.
General manager Patrik Allvin cleared $4.15M off the books a few days ago by trading forward Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks, receiving a fifth round pick in the deal. Allvin then packaged the pick in the deal to bring Zadorov to Vancouver in some great asset management from the second year general manager.
The big Russian defenseman led the Flames with 41 hits before the trade. He uses his large 6'6 frame well to shut down the opposition while also possessing a sneaky good offensive touch, scoring 14 goals last season.
Insiders reported that the Leafs were engaged in trade talks with Calgary last week for Zadorov. The Leafs are confirmed to have had an offer on the table for Zadorov, but with Toronto tight on cap space, the Flames would've reportedly needed to retain some money in any deal with the Leafs, something they opted against doing.
The interesting part in all of this is that, per Kevin Weekes, the Leafs were also attempting to bring Chris Tanev over in the deal, so it will be interesting to see if a deal sending Tanev to Toronto gets done in short order.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 1 | 480 ANSWERS Leafs confirmed to have had an offer on the table for Zadorov; here's why the deal fell apart Did you want Toronto to acquire Zadorov? | ||
| Yes, he was exactly what they needed | 265 | 55.2 % |
| No, need a top four defender | 215 | 44.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
