The Calgary Flames have made their first move of the free agency period today, however it was actually a trade. The Flames have acquired defenseman Nikita Zadorov from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 2022 3rd round pick. This was the pick acquired from Toronto for David Rittich.
Zadorov is a 6’6’’ 235 lb stay at home defenseman. He began his career with Buffalo after being drafted in the first round in 2013. He then spent five years with Colorado before being traded to Chicago before last season. As we can see from the tweet below, Zadorov thrives on shutting down opposing scoring chances, but doesn’t create anything at the other end.