Adrian Dater
Big Z, Nikita Zadorov, is an Av no more. The popular but mercurial Russian defenseman was traded just now by the Avs to the Chicago Blackhawks, along with defenseman Anton Lindholm, for left wing Brandon Saad and 23-year-old defenseman Dennis Gilbert.
The trading of Zadorov was expected. His contract was up, and the Avs just didn’t want to go long-term extension with him, especially with young defensemen coming up such as Bo Byram and Conor Timmins. He was also in and out of coach Jared Bednar’s doghouse over the years.
He did some real good things for the Avs in his time here, though, including this year’s playoffs when he scored a couple of big goals. But it was just time for the parties to mutually move on from other, it was always looking like.
In Saad, the Avs get a winger who has won two Stanley Cups with Chicago, who is still only 27 and is coming off a 21-goal season. He will be an unrestricted free agent after next season, however, and he comes with something of a hefty cap hit – $6 million. However, according to PuckPedia, the Blackhawks will retain $1 million of Saad’s salary, meaning the Avs only will take a $5 million hit to the cap.
I asked longtime NHL analyst Pierre McGuire for his take on the deal, and he didn’t seem a big fan of it from the Avs’ perspective: “Not sure why Colorado did it. Zadorov is tough and stable. Saad is a depth forward who is a committed player, but probably not a top-6 forward,” McGuire told me.
Pierre is my guy, so let’s knock it off with any hate toward him, but I probably disagree with him a bit on this one. To me, Z just didn’t/doesn’t have quite a good-enough patience level with the puck. He ices it too much and gives it away too easily with a good forecheck on him. Yeah, I do still worry about the Avs being bullied around too much by teams – and that was with Big Z on the team – and his loss won’t ease that concern any. But I think to turn Z into a Brandon Saad is more than I expected he’d bring.
So, overall, I think I like this trade. Gilbert, too, could become something more than just a ham-and-egger eventually. I mean, he’s only 23 and was a third-round pick.
As I said, I think the Avs lack some size and intimidation factor, and losing Z won’t help that. Yet, there were times I watched Avs games and thought, “Z aren’t you going to do something about that?” Like, when Jamie Benn is running around and kneeing guys like Erik Johnson after he’s already had a bum knee in a game – that’s dirty, and someone should have pounded the crap out of Benn and/or done something back to Dallas’s top guys. Instead, the Avs – and Z – played like lambs that game and lost the series.
I worry that Saad maybe is a bit too similar to what the Avs already have enough of seemingly: pretty good talent on the wing, 20-goals a year but…not all that gritty, not a world-beater away from the puck. I heard from at least one person who has been around him quite a bit who said, while a good player, Saad is a bit blase, who maybe doesn’t have the same burning desire to win and/or keep pushing himself to be better. The type who might think, “I’ve got my rings, I’ve got my cash – it’s all good, win or lose.”
Gilbert, a left-shot D-man who played 21 games for the Blackhawks, is potentially a good depth defenseman. Here is a very good story on him from the Buffalo News, the city where Gilbert hails from.
On a very busy day in which the Avs also re-signed wingers Andre Burakovsky and Valeri Nichushkin, PuckPedia says the Avs are now down to just a hair under $10 million of available cap space ($9,964,401) and there are still restricted free agents Ryan Graves (who elected for arbitration today and likely will cost at least $2 million in cap space moving forward), Tyson Jost and Vladislav Kamenev, whose rights were retained with qualifying offers.
Translation: it’s looking very tight for the Avs to add, say, a Taylor Hall to the roster – as has been reported by some, that the Avs are/were on his shortlist. If Hall were to join the Avs, he’d have to take a short-term, probably shorter-money-than-he’d-otherwise-normally-take kind of deal. Then, there would be the question now of: where would he play?
Saad, like Hall, is a left wing. I tried again today to get a comment from Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, but got ghosted again.
Nichushkin, by the way, signed a two-year, $5 million deal to say with Colorado. That’s a pretty good price for a veteran guy who scored 13 goals and was a plus-26 this season.
Saad is a reliable 20-goal scorer, which is why he’s got such a nice salary. He spent most of his several years in Chicago playing on the same line as Jonathan Toews, and also spent a couple of good seasons in Columbus.
He no doubt will be motivated to have a good season, entering his UFA year. Saad will be introduced to the Denver fans and media on Monday.
Here’s more on the trade, from the Avs’ official release:
Saad, 27, is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning the title with Chicago in 2012-13 and 2014-15. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native has recorded 347 points (169g/178a) in 588 career regular-season games for the Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, while adding 42 points (18g/24a) in 81 career postseason contests.
Saad tallied 21 goals and 33 points (21g/12a) in 58 games for the Blackhawks during the 2019-20 regular season. He finished third on the club in goals and led the team with five game-winning tallies. It marked the fifth 20-goal campaign of his NHL career. The 6-foot-1, 206-pound left wing went on to add five points (2g/3a) in nine playoff games.
“In Brandon we are acquiring a two-time Stanley Cup champion who brings veteran leadership and experience to our team. He is a proven goal scorer and at age 27, is in the prime of his career,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President / General Manager Joe Sakic. “We are also adding a sturdy, young defenseman in Dennis who plays a physical game and will help our depth on the blue line. We thank Nikita and Anton for their time with the Avalanche and wish them the best of luck moving forward.”
Selected by Chicago in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Saad was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team during his first season in 2012-13. Acquired by Columbus on June 30, 2015, Saad went on to set a career-high with 31 goals and was selected to
the NHL All-Star Game during his first season with the Jackets in 2015-16. He was re-acquired by Chicago on June 23, 2017.
A product of the United States National Team Development Program, Saad represented his country at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship and won gold with Team USA at the 2010 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. He also played for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Prior to turning pro, Saad played two seasons (2010-12) with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, where he was named to the OHL First All-Star Team in 2011-12.
Gilbert, 23, split the 2019-20 campaign between the Blackhawks and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. He skated in 21 games for Chicago, notching three points (1g/2a) and dressed in 30 games for Rockford, tallying seven points (1g/6a). The Buffalo, New York, native recorded his first career NHL point (assist) on Dec. 12, 2019 at Arizona and scored his first career NHL goal on Dec. 27, 2019 vs. NY Islanders.
Chicago’s third-round selection (91st overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, Gilbert made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks on April 3, 2019 vs. St. Louis. He spent the majority of that 2018-19 season—his first as a professional—with Rockford, tallying 14 points (5g/9a). Prior to turning pro, the 6-foot-2, 216-pound rearguard played three seasons at the University of Notre Dame, where he had 42 points (6g/36a) over 116 college games. He was named the Hockey East’s Best Defensive Defenseman and was named to the Hockey East Third All-Star Team as a sophomore in 2016-17. Before he enrolled at Notre Dame, Gilbert played one season with the Chicago Steel where he was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team.