Photo credit: Bleachernation.com

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson continues to evaluate his team and scow are the pending unrestricted free agents that will be on the market which includes former Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zadorov.

Zadorov’s year with the Blackhawks began after his tenure with the avalanche came to an end. He was traded alongside Anton Lindholm to the Blackhawks in exchange for Brandon Saad and Dennis Gilbert. He only remained with the Blackhawks for one season to which he then was traded to the Calgary Flames for a 2022 third round pick.

Zadorov has shown the NHL with his great play since being traded from the Flames to the Vancouver Canucks in which he may have put himself out of reach for the Canucks due to their cap crunch.

It’s clear that the Canucks and their general manager Patrik Allvin will have some major decisions to make this offseason as several of their core players are up for renewal including defenseman Tyler Myers, Filip Hronek, Elias Lindholm and Artrus Silovs name a few.
With many players up for renewal, the Canucks have only $23.7 million in cap space to sign 9 players. On the flip side, Davidson has almost $34 million worth of cap space and can accommodate a contract that Zadorov maybe looking for.

The 29-year-old defenseman has been rumored to be looking for a potential deal of a six year for $36 million at a cap hit of $6 million AAV.

Of course, other numbers could pop up as the free agent market is set to open on July 1st and it remains to be seen on whether Davidson we tried to reunite Zadorov with the team. Adding a player of his pedigree and in his prime would give the Blackhawks more size, more physicality that would help the Blackhawks be competitive in their own end.

One thing is certain, adding Zadorov to an already large defence core which will get larger certainly has the recipe for a winning team.

NHL unrestricted free agency opens on July 1st.