Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm moved from the Calgary Flames to the Vancouver Canucks last season. And today, it looks like they might be heading to another new team together.
The Boston Bruins have done a “significant amount of legwork” to sign both veterans in free agency, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.
Sounds like #NHLBruins have done a significant amount of legwork on both Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm as free agency opens.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2024
The Canucks have known for a while that Lindholm wouldn’t be coming back, but their negotiations with Zadorov lasted longer. Vancouver reportedly offered the big 6-foot-6 blueliner $5 million a season to stay.
But by Thursday, talks had broken down.
“We couldn’t go any farther with Nikita Zadorov,” Canucks GM Patrik Allvin told reporters last week.
“For us, it’s not just about each individual, it’s about getting a team that is competitive and fitting the puzzle. So that’s the direction that Nikita has decided to go and we did our best, and we couldn’t go any further.”
“I can’t overpay one single player, and Nikita Zadorov was extremely good for us in the playoffs and a character guy,” Allvin added. “We did our best, and he decided that he wanted to go somewhere else.”
Teams can officially begin signing players from other teams at 9 am PT today.
The Canucks were thought to be interested in Jake Guentzel and Chris Tanev, but have already been beaten out by other teams for their services. The Tampa Bay Lightning traded for Guentzel’s rights, while the Toronto Maple Leafs did the same with Tanev. They’re both already signed new contracts with their respective teams.
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