[Signing] Flames sign Zadorov to 1 year deal worth $3.75 mil

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Yup, I think he and Manson will be the best bang for your buck guys this year presuming they sign deals in the Tanev range.

Leddy was only making $5.5 before. I suspect he will be in the Tanev range or maybe even less. Lots of miles on him.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Zadorov is going to get way more in free agency than the Flames can afford, and that's likely for the best. I think what we saw from him this year was the best he can offer, and frankly I don't think it was worth $2.5 million. I suspect he gets well north of $4m.

You've always disliked him. Did he snub you for an interview or something?

For the entire regular season almost every team that played us said we were hard to play against. Was it because of Hanifin? No. Was it Rasmus? No. Was it because of Tanev? Not really.

and he would have been a force in the playoffs if he didn't have 3 cracked ribs. I'd rather the Flames keep with this hulk smash hockey than the 98lb weakling hockey we've played for the past 8 years.

[TheScorpion]

I think he had a fine season, all things considered. Probably the best season he could've had. But that doesn't change the fact he was a sheltered third-pairing defenceman being paid $3.75 million. If he was being paid $1.95 million like his partner? Sure. But for large chunks of the season, Zadorov was the Flames' sixth-best defenceman, and for the first two months of the year, he was their No. 7. I can't look at his body of work from last year and comfortably give that player a raise, or even the same amount of money.

I simply never thought that was a particularly good use of the cap room they freed up when they lost Giordano, and I think they can better allocate their money next year. He has to be, what, No. 6 or 7 on their priority list?

I have no problems with Zadorov as a person. None. I think you thank him for what he did this year and wish him the best somewhere else.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

You've always disliked him. Did he snub you for an interview or something?

For the entire regular season almost every team that played us said we were hard to play against. Was it because of Hanifin? No. Was it Rasmus? No. Was it because of Tanev? Not really.

and he would have been a force in the playoffs if he didn't have 3 cracked ribs. I'd rather the Flames keep with this hulk smash hockey than the 98lb weakling hockey we've played for the past 8 years.

You can may be afford to keep one of him and Gudbranson, but certainly not both. Zadorov is just not worth the price tag if you ask me - especially when his floor can be as low as it is for long stretches of time. If you can replace his minutes and then some with a guy like Mackey at a fraction of the cost you do it.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I think he had a fine season, all things considered. Probably the best season he could've had. But that doesn't change the fact he was a sheltered third-pairing defenceman being paid $3.75 million. If he was being paid $1.95 million like his partner? Sure. But for large chunks of the season, Zadorov was the Flames' sixth-best defenceman, and for the first two months of the year, he was their No. 7. I can't look at his body of work from last year and comfortably give that player a raise, or even the same amount of money.

I simply never thought that was a particularly good use of the cap room they freed up when they lost Giordano, and I think they can better allocate their money next year. He has to be, what, No. 6 or 7 on their priority list?

I have no problems with Zadorov as a person. None. I think you thank him for what he did this year and wish him the best somewhere else.

There is ZERO question Zadarov had a better season than Gio.

Did you see our record during the season? How much better cap allocation did you want? Jesus.

[TheScorpion]

Well, I beg to differ. Giordano remained significantly better than Zadorov pretty much all season long and was particularly strong after being traded to Toronto, where he was legitimately one of their top players at any position down the stretch and in the playoffs. I don't think there's much comparison there.

And just because a team has a very good record does not mean every piece of that puzzle fit in perfectly. Zadorov was fine, overall. He was also a third-pairing defenceman who had stretches of being one of the least effective players on the team.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

There is ZERO question Zadarov had a better season than Gio.

Did you see our record during the season? How much better cap allocation did you want? Jesus.

Gio>Zadorov and its not even close.

Although it's hard to compare a dman playing tough minutes vs one who is being heavily sheltered.

I'm not sure why Calgary's record is relevant to this question.

[Johnny Makarov]

LOL. Both UFAs.

1 guy is going to make $4mil+.... the other guy $800k.

[TheScorpion]

Gio's value on the open market wildly exceeds the cap hit he chose to take in Toronto. Not to mention veteran players often command less money due to their age.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Zadorov may not have played the hardest minutes, but he definitely made the opposition think once or twice before cutting to the middle. I understand you can't break the bank on the bottom pairing, but the Flames regained some of their "hard to play against" identity this season and part of that was lost with Zadorov being injured in the final round. They need someone on the back-end to keep players in check.

[EVERLAST]

I think Mackey will be getting his chance this year and we'll be bidding goodbye to Z.

Mackey is a hitter too , not afraid to drop the mitts and both MacLean and Love have spoken highly of him . I think he surprises some folks next year.

I'd love to keep Z but ??? $$$$$$

[Njord]

Whether he stays or goes I'll never forget how he made Duncan Keith turn tail like a yellow bellied chicken just by grabbing the scruff of his neck

[GioforPM]

Kassian wouldn’t fight Zadorov either. And it’s not like he’s a champ.

[GreenLantern2814]

They can keep one of Zadorov or Gudbranson. They probably keep Gudbranson.

You can find mean rugged stay home D on the 2nd day of free agency.

Just because you need a couple Zadorov/Gudbranson types doesn’t mean you need Zadorov and Gudbranson.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Gio's value on the open market wildly exceeds the cap hit he chose to take in Toronto. Not to mention veteran players often command less money due to their age.

I will say this about Gio.

With the full benefit of hindsight… Tanev’s dislocated shoulder, Zad’s broken ribs, OK’s dinged up shoulder, and Gio’s as of then unlisted house, I kind of wish that Tre had brought him back at the deadline

May have had a different result in the playoffs

And really no comment on potentially re-signing him. Just about the playoffs

[Sandman]

I said it earlier in the thread, Gudbranson and Z would be wise to try working out a deal with the Flames-neither one will look nearly as good playing under a coach other than Sutter. Z did more to get noticed, such as skating with the puck and big hits, but if it's between Z and Gudbranson-EG is the better, steadier player. He's a lot tougher too. The only reason Zadorov played the amount of games he did was because Valimaki wasn't ready.

[FanIn80]

OK, but seriously... can we re-name this thread or something?

[boogerz]

Zadorov's career earnings to date is $17M
Gudbranson's career earnings to date is $29M

Zadorov was 7th in RS ATOI amongst Flames D and he's at the stage of his career to get a big UFA pay day. Especially with the Flames' cap crunch, there is almost no chance that Zadorov is in a Flames jersey in the fall.

On the otherhand, given his age and career earnings, I could see Gudbranson making a deal to stay in Calgary for some stability. He's also a guy that Sutter specifically targeted last off-season and was tied for 4th in RS ATOI amongst Flames D.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by boogerz

Zadorov's career earnings to date is $17M
Gudbranson's career earnings to date is $29M

Zadorov was 7th in RS ATOI amongst Flames D and he's at the stage of his career to get a big UFA pay day. Especially with the Flames' cap crunch, there is almost no chance that Zadorov is in a Flames jersey in the fall.

On the otherhand, given his age and career earnings, I could see Gudbranson making a deal to stay in Calgary for some stability. He's also a guy that Sutter specifically targeted last off-season and was tied for 4th in RS ATOI amongst Flames D.

A bit disingenuous to include 11 games of Michael Stone, most of which were spent replacing OK pairing with Tanev to maintain consistency.

Z's TOI also increased in the second half of the season:
First 37: 16:27
Last 37: 17:22

ES TOI Z was 5th, but obviously there's also a reason he didn't get much special teams time.

He's a 4/5D on most teams.

Then Z was 4th in playoffs ATOI (albeit only slightly higher than EG) - obviously things got a bit weird with the middle pair and generally running 7 D

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

A bit disingenuous to include 11 games of Michael Stone, most of which were spent replacing OK pairing with Tanev to maintain consistency.

Z's TOI also increased in the second half of the season:
First 37: 16:27
Last 37: 17:22

ES TOI Z was 5th, but obviously there's also a reason he didn't get much special teams time.

He's a 4/5D on most teams.

Then Z was 4th in playoffs ATOI (albeit only slightly higher than EG) - obviously things got a bit weird with the middle pair and generally running 7 D

The most telling piece of the story is that Zadorov wasn't trusted to play meaningful time on special teams.

Gudbranson was trusted enough to be a staple of the first PK unit and the only dman with more PK ATOI was Tanev.

Stone was parachuted into Kylington's spot at ES for consistency, but Sutter didn't have to use Stone on both the PK and PP (almost 1:00 ATOI on both). He chose to put Stone on both the PP and PK, and give him more PK time than both Zadorov and Kylington.

If Zadorov wasn't playing meaningful ES time against tough match-ups and isn't trusted enough to play special teams, what good is re-signing him long-term and/or with a UFA premium? The Flames can get another dman that fills Zadorov's very sheltered role for considerably less than what they're paying him now.