Bruins, Marco Sturm Face Tough Nikita Zadorov Decision Tuesday

The Boston Bruins return to action Tuesday night, finishing off a prolonged four-game road trip to California, ending tonight in Texas against the Dallas Stars.

The Bruins have won five-straight games, surging to the top of the Atlantic Division where they also lead the division in regulation wins.

Boston, led by Head Coach Marco Sturm, has to make an extremely difficult decision with his lineup tonight in Dallas.

Saturday, the Bruins handled the Los Angeles Kings, winning 4-1 despite a slower first period. Defensively, the Bruins were excellent after the first period.

Yet, the Bruins have something of a brewing controversy with their defense.

Nikita Zadorov, in the third year of a six-year, $30 million contract, served as a healthy scratch in Saturday's victory following disciplinary issues against the Anaheim Ducks the night before.

Yesterday at practice, Sturm urged media and fans not to read into the team's lines, one in which Pavel Zacha practiced in full.

Zacha is nursing an upper-body injury, and seems to be a game-time decision Tuesday at best.

The defense, however, saw Zadorov skate as an extra with Connor Clifton. 

The Bruins scratching Zadorov once prompted a public rebuke from Zadorov's agent, Dan Millstein, along with an Elliotte Friedman podcast segment where he essentially said it's a non-story... for now.

Scratching Zadorov twice in a row?

It becomes much more of a story than a one-off disciplinary scratch. At that point, it's a statement that Sturm may think his best lineup right now doesn't include Zadorov.

Zadorov has a 16-team no-trade clause currently in his contract. On July 1, 2027, that drops to an 8-team no-trade clause.

That's a major development for the Bruins. Hampus Lindholm is signed long-term and doesn't appear to be headed anywhere anytime soon.

Frederic Brunet looks to be a budding star for the Bruins defensively, while Mason Lohrei looks like he's turned the corner and is blossoming right into what Boston needs him to be.

Lohrei, a lefty, has also proven he can play on the right, adding even more value to the player.

This Zadorov issue, even if he plays tonight, may not be the end of the story.

With his relatively cheap cap hit in this new NHL cap world, coupled with his physical play that teams salivate over, it's quite possible the Bruins may end up looking at a future without the bruising defenseman.

However, as Friedman said in 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, as long as Boston's winning, no matter what happens here, it will go on the back burner.