Nikita Zadorov re-signs with Avalanche

With the bulk of their external additions completed, the Avalanche looked inward and signed one of their own on Friday afternoon with Nikita Zadorov being re-signed for one year. The deal is worth $3.2 million.

Zadorov, 24, appeared in 70 games for the Avalanche last season. He scored 14 points (7g, 7a) in what was another wildly inconsistent season for the hulking Russian defender. Zadorov followed up his regular season with a scoreless 12 games in the playoffs.

That, of course, isn’t Zadorov’s game as he’s far more well known for his crushing hits. A year after leading the NHL in hits, Zadorov finished 14th this past year with 228.

His presence along the blue line was a key component during the series against the San Jose Sharks as he brought a bruising attitude that repeatedly punished their forwards for trying to carry the puck into the zone.

After several games of getting lit up, their forwards started deciding to dump the puck in more often, allowing Colorado’s defenders an easier time retrieving the puck and moving it out. It was a perfect example of the impact his physical style has on opposing teams and it really drove home the kind of difference he can make in a seven-game series.

Inconsistency and a penalty-prone style still plague Zadorov’s overall game and he’ll have to smooth those issues out if he wants a longer deal in the future. He did score seven goals for the second straight season so it’s fair to expect that part of his game is here to stay.

The goal-scoring ability he showed last year will need to carry over next season as Tyson Barrie is no longer part of the blue line and injuries to Ian Cole and Erik Johnson could force them to miss time (Cole certainly).

All of that adds up to Zadorov being given another opportunity to prove he’s worthy of top-four consideration on a playoff team. With two more years of restricted free agent status after this contract expires, the Avalanche are still trying to figure out just who Zadorov will be long-term.

“Z brings a tough, physical presence to our blue line,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President / General Manager Joe Sakic. “He is an important part of our back end and we are excited to have him under contract for next season.”

The Avalanche still have RFAs to sign in Mikko Rantanen, Vladislav Kamenev, A.J. Greer, Andre Burakovsky, J.T. Compher, Ryan Graves, Sheldon Dries, Anton Lindholm, and Sergei Boikov. Compher, Graves, and Dries all filed for salary arbitration today.

Per usual, here are some of Zadorov’s fancy stats: