Chicago Blackhawks, Nikita Zadorov #16 Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Blackhawks’ move to trade Brandon Saad for Nikita Zadorov turned out to be much worse than I imagined. Let’s go over everything so far:
In 2017, Artemi Panarin was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Brandon Saad. Panarin continued where he left off and blossomed to become an established NHL superstar there before he signed an eight-year contract worth $11.642 million per year with the New York Rangers.
Brandon Saad still provided offense and was defensively sound in his own zone while he was with the team, but he was traded in the offseason along with Dennis Gilbert for Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm.