Nikita Zadorov, and the Blackhawks’ relationship to him — both in terms of fans and the current front office — is a complicated one. He already has his detractors in Chicago and he has his supporters.
Zadorov is almost a typical defensive defenseman, at least in build. The team roster bills him at 6-foot-6, 236 pounds, which is big enough to make sure the hits he dishes out — and he hit a lot of people last season, throwing 190 hits in 55 games — hurt.
But Zadorov doesn’t have speed in his skating, so when he goes for a hit, he’s often separating himself from the play, and he isn’t as effective at separating the opposing player from the puck when throwing hits as one would like — something we used to see in a player like Andrew Shaw.