Canucks Acquire Nikita Zadorov From Flames

The Vancouver Canucks acquired Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick.

Nikita Zadorov is on the move from the Calgary Flames to a Pacific Division rival.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired the defenseman from the Flames in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick originally acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks and a 2026 third-round selection.

Zadorov, a 28-year-old from Moscow, Russia, was in his third season with the Flames, recording five assists and six points in 21 games. Throughout his 11-year NHL career so far, the 6-foot-6, 248-pound blueliner has 588 career matches played, 42 goals, 90 assists and 132 points.

Zadorov was in the final season of a two-year contract worth $3.75 million annually. Reports came out that the pending UFA requested a trade after a Nov. 10 matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“First, I’d like to thank Nikita for his commitment to the Flames and his professionalism through this process,” said Flames GM Craig Conroy in a team statement.

“This trade provides us with important draft assets, cap space and the opportunity for another one of our young prospects to prove himself in the NHL.”

Calgary now has six picks for the 2024 NHL draft, one for each of the first six rounds. The club also now has eight picks in 2026 with that extra third-rounder. 

Questions still remain on what the Flames will do with their remaining pending UFAs, including defensemen Noah Hanifin and Christopher Tanev, as well as center Elias Lindholm. The Flames sit just one point out of a wild-card playoff spot ahead of Friday night's matches, with 21 points in 22 games.

Meanwhile, the Canucks continue to make moves this week. On Tuesday, they traded winger Anthony Beauvillier to the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2024 fifth-round pick, which cleared $4.15 million of cap space. 

With Carson Soucy on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, having Zadorov on the club as well provides more strength and depth on the back end. Zadorov led all Flames defensemen in Corsi-for percentage at 5-on-5, at 56.41 percent, per naturalstattrick.com. 

Any improvements in depth help as the Canucks try to continue their brilliant start, ranking them second in the Pacific Division and fourth in the NHL with 31 points in 23 games.