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The Boston Bruins landed one of the most prized players available in the free-agent market by signing former Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov on July 1.
The Bruins inked Zadorov to a massive six-year, $30 million contract with a cap hit of $5 million per season, thus reinforcing their defense corps with a premier player.
Zadorov jumped on a Zoom call after the announcement and shared his thoughts on the transaction, including issuing a warning to his new fans out of respect for a former Boston hockey legend.
“I’m not even close to (Zdeno Chara‘s level) and I want to start with, like, in my past teams, people were calling me ‘Big Z’,” Zadorov said when asked if he molds his game after Chara’s. “Please do not ever call me ‘Big Z’ now.”
Despite Chara starting his career with the New York Islanders and then playing for the Ottawa Senators, he cemented his legacy in Boston by playing for the Bruins from 2006 through 2020.
Zadorov acknowledged he learned a lot from watching Chara. However, he believes there is no point in comparing them as he is ways away from matching his levels of play.
“I feel like I’m not even close to the half of the ‘Big Z,'” Zadorov said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s one of the best defensemen of all time.
“There’s definitely a lot to learn from him. Obviously, he was one of my role models growing up because of his size and his physical play and everything. The leader he is, I think I can learn a lot from him. That could be a good time for sure.”
Zdeno Chara Retired A Bruin at Age 45
Boston Bruins legendary defenseman Zdeno Chara, known as “Big Z,” announced his retirement in September 2022 after playing 21 seasons in the NHL and leading the Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011.
Chara, a hulking 6-foot-9 blueliner hailing from Slovakia, hung his skates at age 45 and spent 14 seasons in Boston sandwiched by stints with the Islanders, the Senators, the Capitals, and the Islanders once again in his final year of play.
Moreover, the defenseman won the Norris Trophy as the best NHL blueliner in 2009. He racked up 237 goals along with 523 assists for 750 total points in 1,880 regular-season and playoff games combined.
In addition, Chara also appeared in six All-Star games, five of them as a member of the Bruins.
Bruins Make Huge Splash, Land 2 Former Canucks
The Bruins lost no time and addressed two of their main roster gaps early on July 1 once the free-agent market opened at 12 p.m. ET.
Boston added two former Canucks stars to their squad ahead of the 2024-25 season by signing Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, nearly completing their roster for the upcoming campaign just a few hours into free agency.
According to Daily Faceoff’s depth charts, as seen in the tweet above, the Bruins will deploy Zadorov on the left side of their blue line and Lindholm as the top-line center across David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha.
Lindholm topped Zadorov’s contract with the Bruins by signing a humongous seven-year, $54.25 million deal with Boston as an unrestricted free agent. The contract comes out at an annual average value of $7.75 million.
After the deal was announced, Lindholm was asked about the expectations of fans with him taking over the role vacated by now-retired former Bruin Patrice Bergeron. Lindholm, however, didn’t want to compare himself to the Boston great.
“I don’t want to compare myself or anything like that,” Lindholm said on a Zoom call on July 1. “But I think I can bring a little bit of what he did. I want to try to come there and bring my game, come back to the player I know I can be, and hopefully help this team achieve a Stanley Cup.”
Did the Bruins Overpay for Zadorov & Lindholm?
According to Chris Johnston of The Athletic, reporting on May 5, the Bruins were interested in trading for Lindholm ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. Boston didn’t end up trading for the forward back then, but the Bruins finally signed him on July 1.
In the eyes of Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic, the large deal he signed with the Bruins is worth an “A” grade while Zadorov’s contract got a “B+” grade.
“(The Bruins) got (Lindholm) at a price that was less than what Lindholm wanted to sign an extension for with the Flames. Lindholm originally was targeting a contract in the $9 million per season range,” Duhatschek wrote. “So, probably Lindholm left money on the table. Happily for the Bruins, they got him at good value.”
Additionally, already discussing Zadorov’s past with the Canucks and his new contract with Boston, Duhatschek believes the Bruins won the day by snatching the blueliner from Vancouver at the price they paid for him.
“After Quinn Hughes, Zadorov was probably Vancouver’s second-most-impactful defenseman in the playoffs,” Duhatschek wrote. “Considering the dollars that the other high-end defensemen were getting in free agency, the $5 million AAV on Zadorov seems about right.”
After the first day of free agency on July 1, the Bruins still have $8.6 million in cap space with 22 of 23 players under contract.
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