Update on where things currently stand with Nikita Zadorov after he requested a trade to the Leafs

The Leafs being in the market for a defenseman is certainly not a surprise to anyone, but when Nikita Zadorov and his agent openly declared an interest in being traded to Toronto, it certainly peaked the interest of the fanbase.

Zadorov checks a lot of boxes for the Leafs in that he's a massive body (6'6, 248 lbs.), a strong defensive presence, can provide some secondary scoring from the blueline with his booming shot, and has a real nasty streak to his game. He's everything they're looking for and more.

In terms of where the Calgary Flames are at with Zadorov's trade request, until this week, it's been relatively quiet on Craig Conroy's end, with the first-year Flames GM not addressing the matter publicly until yesterday. Conroy revealed that, despite his trade request, Zadorov is still someone he gets along with great. Conroy even complimented Zadorov's play following the trade request.

As far as whether or not there's any real rush to get a deal done to avoid this thing dragging out any longer than it has to, Conroy had this to say:

While the Flames don't appear to be in any rush to move Zadorov, Tanev or any number of other pending UFAs, the Leafs may have to ramp up their efforts if they want to avoid the potential of other teams jumping in on these conversations early and beginning a bit of a bidding war.

Zadorov does not have any trade protection built into his contract, so it's not as though he can direct management to trade him to Toronto or any other destination. This may well be a case of "best offer gets the player", so hopefully Leafs GM Brad Treliving is willing to put together the best offer without overpaying.

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