Last night, the Boston Bruins put a letter on Nikita Zadorov's jersey for the first time, making him an alternate captain, with both Charlie McAvoy and Elias Lindholm not in the lineup Wednesday in Anaheim.
It's an official acknowledgment of just how much Zadorov means to the team and how big a leader he's become. On the ice, he's constantly carrying the torch of the Big, Bad Bruins legacy,
Zadorov's been nothing but a consummate professional, and is constantly there for his teammates on and off the ice.
After tough losses and big wins alike, Zadorov's always a guy ready to talk to the media about the team, and dissect it all.
It's little things that can go a long way in a locker room. Those media meetings are one of them. Always being the first to drop the gloves and go after a guy who hurt one of his teammates is another.
Zadorov's also a total unicorn, showcasing elite skating from time to time when he casually goes coast-to-coast on a rush, generating high-danger chances.
Suffice to say, he's been a home run addition for the Bruins after signing on July 1, 2024.
That brings us to last night, when Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Bruins landed Zadorov over the Toronto Maple Leafs, outbidding Toronto by all of $500,000.
It's the best $500,000 Boston's spent in a very long time. Toronto's floundering defensively, and had they landed Zadorov, he might've been the stabilizing force they needed.
The butterfly effect goes even deeper. Had Toronto landed Zadorov, perhaps they never trade for Brandon Carlo, and then the Bruins don't have what's potentially a lottery pick and Fraser Minten, two elite pieces for Boston.