Avalanche Film Room: The Good and Bad of Nikita Zadorov

There is no player on the Avs more frustrating to both fans and the coaching staff than Nikita Zadorov.

Some nights, he looks like he can be a top-pairing defenseman capable of shutting down elite players in the NHL. Other nights, you wonder if the organization really doesn’t have six other defensemen they could be playing over him. The other nights, it’s somewhere in between. Therein lies the frustration of the staff. They don’t know what player they’re getting on a consistent basis.

Unfortunately, this can no longer be chalked up to being young. The 6’5″ defenseman turns 25 soon and is closing in on 400 total games in the NHL. There’s always a chance he could turn that corner and find that consistency he needs, but how much longer can you hold onto that hope?

In this film room, we’ll take a look at what Zadorov does when he’s at the top of his game that makes him a nightmare to play against, and what he does when he’s not that drives the coaching staff up a wall. We’ll start with the good, and finish with the, uh, not so good.

PASTA FREE DIET

The Avs went into Boston at the start of December and played their best defensive game (to date) of the year. They were led by Zadorov, who played over 27 minutes and may have put in the best defensive effort of his career. His main job that night was to shut down the top goal scorer in the league, David Pastrnak. He succeeded.

There were several good moments for Z on Pasta in that game, but this one stuck out to me and showcased just how difficult it is to enter the zone cleanly against Zadorov. While his hitting gets a lot of publicity, his ability to not allow the other team to enter the zone with puck control is maybe his greatest asset.

Here, Pastrnak takes his chances against Zadorov, because he’s able to enter the zone freely against most defenders. Z uses his length to close the gap, and his stick takes away any time and space Pasta had. When Pasta does go to make a move around Zadorov, the Avs defender doesn’t even look at the puck and just takes the body, leaving the puck for an easy clear for Barberio. This play shows why most of the time, opposing players just take their chances dumping the puck in rather than trying to go around Z.  He makes it look easy against an elite player.

STICKING WITH MCDAVID

I remember talking to Zadorov after this game against Edmonton. He said the staff came to him and wanted to challenge him by taking on McDavid head to head. That night, he was ready for it.

This is the type of play that shows off just how much ground Zadorov can cover. For a big guy, he can skate with people when he wants to. The problem is it doesn’t happen enough. McDavid cuts through the two Avs forwards with the puck but runs into Zadorov, and Z wastes no time attacking him. His stick positioning doesn’t allow McDavid to cut back towards the boards and keep his forward momentum going, and instead Z forces him into an uncomfortable position where McDavid is suddenly the last man back. McDavid, who is probably the best offensive player in the world, has to throw a pass to the far side, the last option he likely wanted, and the pressure makes the pass less accurate. A turnover ensues, and the Avs take control for an easy exit.

This is the type of stuff that drives you mad because you see him slow down the best player in the world, and then a month later he’s been so maddeningly inconsistent that the staff even has to bench him. I also think this play shows that Z is capable of making big-time defensive impacts even if he’s not throwing his weight around all the time. We just don’t see it enough.

EXITING WITH EASE

Speaking of things we don’t see enough, Zadorov’s offense really dried up this year. Outside of a five-game stretch around the All-Star break, he didn’t bring much of anything offensively. This one frustrates me just as much as some of the defensive things.

We’ve seen glimpses of it here and there. When Zadorov gets going, the opposing team can’t slow him down. He’s a fantastic skater for his size, and he has offensive ability, but watching him rush the puck up the ice happens all too rarely.

On this one, he waits for the Canucks forward to bite around the net and takes off, and he avoids the third Canucks forward with ease. The key to all of this is that Z is moving his feet at all times. More than anything else, that may be where he gets into the most trouble. When he’s standing still or gliding, it’s easy to play against him, and that’s when he turns the puck over or makes poor decisions. When he moves like this, you see what he has the capability of doing, but like most things, it just doesn’t happen nearly enough. This rush leads a decent chance just moments after it was behind their own net.

GAUDREAU’S NIGHTMARE

I really didn’t need to include this one, but it’s just another showcase of what Zadorov is capable of doing when he is on his game. He made Gaudreau’s life miserable in this game, and here he just uses his length to take the puck away, and his body to separate Gaudreau from the puck entirely. Later in this shift, Gaudreau bailed on a puck around Z, and a pass from Z helped start the play on what ended up being the game-winning goal.

That’s now three cases of Z playing incredible offensive players very well. The problem is he has yet to settle into this job because of the maddening inconsistency in his game. Let’s get to that…

PENALTY ISSUES

For about the first month of the season, Z was good to get called for a penalty every game. The physical penalties, I think the staff is fine with because that’s how he has to play. The stick stuff? That isn’t going to fly.

Like I mentioned earlier, Z gets himself into trouble far too often when he isn’t moving his feet. That’s clear here. The initial issue here is that he’s a little too soft on the puck on the dump in. That’s fine, those things can happen, but when you’re already shorthanded, you need to recover. That doesn’t happen here.

Instead of moving to a better spot on the ice, Z just stands there. When the Flames pick up the puck, he’s stuck not moving his feet and out of position, which leads to him reaching in and taking a penalty, putting his team down another player. This entire play was avoidable, but hurt the Avs, as they did give up a goal soon after.

Z is an easy target for refs, and he has taken his fair share of penalties where it sure didn’t seem like he did a lot wrong, but when he’s not moving his feet and starts reaching, that’s when you get an unhappy Bednar.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING, Z?

The one isn’t played terribly by Zadorov to begin with. It looked like an odd-man rush initially, but once Makar gets back, Z recognizes he can attack Point. While he doesn’t get the puck, he does just enough to force Point to fumble it. Francouz not covering the puck is another issue altogether, but Z puts himself in a terrible position.

I’m not sure if he expected the puck to be covered (not something you can just assume), but he finds himself drifting behind the net, the worst spot for a defenseman to be, especially when there’s nobody around. If Z had just stopped at the post, this play likely would have been fine, as he would have been in a much better position to tie up any incoming forwards. Instead, he’s forced to recover from a disadvantage behind the net, and Stamkos just outmuscles him for the puck when Z could have just had better positioning in the first place.

His defensive play around the goaltender has been a pretty consistent issue in Colorado, and comes into play here. There’s no reason for Z to be outmuscled by anyone in a situation like this. It starts with him losing concentration for a second and floating out of position behind the net, then ends with him losing a battle that should have been a win.

15 SECONDS OF MISERY

This was the start of a game that saw Zadorov on the ice for three goals against in nine minutes, and one where he was benched for the last half of the game.

It all starts with Z having control of the puck in the defensive zone and just being too soft on the clear. The forward could have probably been in a better position, but you can put some more mustard on that puck and not make it so easy for the pinching defender to keep in. If you ice it, so be it, live to fight another day.

Instead, the puck is easily kept in, and Z gets way too out of control. Instead of playing it smart, as this had been a long shift already, he tries to go out of his way to catch the Ducks forward with a big hit. When the forward turns back, Z has given up too much space to recover. That forward would hit a teammate in front of the net for an easy goal just soon after.

This is just a glimpse into some of the things that make Zadorov so frustrating on a night to night basis. You just never know which Z you are going to get. He has the capability of being great, but at this point, I think the staff would just settle for consistency, and they don’t get that.

That is part of what will make the organization’s decision with Zadorov’s new contract so interesting. Do they want to continue sticking with Z, in hopes that he can turn the corner and find more consistency, or will they part ways with him and go with a younger, cheaper option? We’ll find out whenever the offseason does get underway.