Quote:
Originally Posted by agulati
Free agency started on July 28th as well, I believe . The trade was made on the first day of free agency.
Again, I’m not saying any of the free agents might necessarily have been better than Zadorov, but the actual list of UFAs available wasn’t close to as bare bones as the one you posted.
David Savard, Alex Edler, Derek Forbort, Mike Reilly, Cody Ceci, Ian Cole were all available and signed to a cap hit not significantly different than Zadorov’s. Good chance some of them had no interest coming to Calgary though.
I don’t believe the flames only wanted to sign him to a one year contract, when they traded for him. Be it lack of due diligence, pressure of arbitration or conversations not making headway, walking him to UFA status is no where close to ideal.
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If these are my choices, I'll take Zadorov every time. I don't think any team was afraid of being hit or pushed around by last years Flames defensemen. I look forward to players actually getting knocked off their feet or at least knocked off the puck.
I am hoping that Zadorov's highlight reel becomes a regular thing here.