Nikita Zadorov was an effective big-hitting shutdown defenseman for the Avalanche.
At times.
The 25-year-old is a member of the Chicago Blackhawks now because the Avs became tired of his inconsistent play and they probably didn’t want to deal with another contract negotiation for the restricted free agent.
Zadorov, 6-foot-6 and 236 pounds, was probably destined to get traded this offseason, and Colorado found the means to do that and also win Saturday’s trade that sent scoring forward Brandon Saad to the Avs. Young depth defenseman Anton Lindholm and Dennis Gilbert were also in the four-player trade, with Gilbert coming to Colorado.