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Nikita Zadorov

#91 · Defence · Boston Bruins

Born Apr 16, 1995 in Moscow, RUS (age 31) · 6'7", 244 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 16th overall in 2013 by BUF (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2015-16. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

David Warsofsky NJD · 2 P in 22 GP Jamie Oleksiak DAL · 2 P in 19 GP Paul Postma WPG · 2 P in 26 GP Petter Granberg NSH · 2 P in 27 GP Fredrik Claesson OTT · 2 P in 16 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

051015202013-14: 1 points113-142014-15: 15 points1514-152015-16: 2 points215-162016-17: 10 points1016-172017-18: 20 points2017-182018-19: 14 points1418-192019-20: 13 points1319-202020-21: 8 points820-212021-22: 22 points2221-222022-23: 21 points2122-232023-24: 20 points2023-242024-25: 22 points2224-252025-26: 22 points2225-262026-27: 2 points226-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2013-14 BUF 7 1 0 1 -4 4 4 25 0.14 $925K
2014-15 BUF 60 3 12 15 -10 51 52 134 0.25 $894K
2015-16 COL 22 0 2 2 -5 12 18 53 0.09 $894K
2016-17 COL 56 0 10 10 -20 73 61 153 0.18 $894K
2017-18 COL 77 7 13 20 4 103 94 278 0.26 $2.15M
2018-19 COL 70 7 7 14 19 75 100 228 0.20 $2.15M
2019-20 COL 64 4 9 13 6 65 65 175 0.20 $3.2M
2020-21 CHI 55 1 7 8 1 36 52 190 0.15 $3.2M
2021-22 CGY 74 4 18 22 11 77 106 181 0.30 $3.75M
2022-23 CGY 82 14 7 21 10 80 130 174 0.26 $3.75M
2023-24 CGY 21 1 5 6 -6 23 29 53 0.29 $3.75M
2023-24 VAN 54 5 9 14 6 102 61 124 0.26
2024-25 BOS 81 4 18 22 25 145 105 219 0.27 $5M
2025-26 BOS 81 2 20 22 18 152 107 196 0.27 $5M
2026-27 BOS 6 0 2 2 0 14 9 23 0.33 $5M
14 seasons Career 810 53 139 192 55 1012 993 2206 0.24

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2017-18 COL 6 1 2 3 1 32 9 28 0.50
2018-19 COL 12 0 0 0 -5 24 11 59 0.00
2019-20 COL 12 3 2 5 6 16 14 43 0.42
2021-22 CGY 12 0 3 3 2 24 21 32 0.25
2023-24 VAN 13 4 4 8 3 26 21 45 0.62
2025-26 BOS 6 0 1 1 -1 37 6 19 0.17
6 seasons Playoffs 61 8 12 20 6 159 82 226 0.33

2015-16 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
22 0 2 2 -5 12 18 53 0.09 0.0 16:56

Contract

$894KCap hitends in 2017, then RFA
$447KCap dollars per point2 points in 22 games
-$295KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$1.2MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 668 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Sep 25, 2013, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $5.325M, beginning in 2014-15. It runs through 2016-17, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2014-15 $894K $833K $93K $850K $925K
2015-16 $894K $833K $93K $850K $925K
2016-17 $894K $833K $0 $850K $833K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2024 Boston Bruins New contract 2024-25 to 2029-30 6 $30M $5M
Jul 13, 2022 Calgary Flames New contract 2022-23 to 2023-24 2 $7.5M $3.75M
Aug 20, 2021 Calgary Flames New contract 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $3.75M $3.75M
Oct 10, 2020 Chicago Blackhawks New contract 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $3.2M $3.2M
Jul 5, 2019 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2019-20 to 2019-20 1 $3.2M $3.2M
Sep 15, 2017 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2017-18 to 2018-19 2 $4.3M $2.15M
Sep 25, 2013 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2014-15 to 2016-17 signed for 2013-14, slid 3 $5.325M $894K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2015-16 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2015-16 analytics

Rating

-1.4Goals above replacement589th of 675 skaters, 193rd of 230 defencemen
-0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 230 ranked defencemen: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence-0.5 53rd percentileEven-strength defence-1.7 25th percentilePower play-0.1 43rd percentilePenalty kill+0.2 70th percentilePenalties-0.5 54th percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among defencemen. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-4-202462013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

45.5Corsi for %269 attempts for, 322 against
+2.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
40.9Expected goals for %10.3 expected for, 14.9 against
-4.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
40.9Goals for %9 for, 13 against
98.3PDO6.0% shooting + 92.2% saves
38Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Francois Beauchemin · Nikita Zadorov18127:4050.943.73-3
Nate Guenin · Nikita Zadorov763:1228.632.21-0
Tyson Barrie · Nikita Zadorov1345:2546.852.72-0
Nick Holden · Nikita Zadorov1838:1039.125.60-5

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.8Expected goalsfrom 28 unblocked attempts
-0.8Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.13 expected goals per 60 minutes27th
Shot quality 2.9% chance per attempt40th
Finishing -0.8 goals above expected35thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 230 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.20.40.60.81Game 20Expected 0.8Goals 0

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 9, 2016 vs ANA L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 19:56
Apr 7, 2016 @ DAL L 2-4 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 21:22
Apr 5, 2016 @ NSH L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 11:27
Apr 1, 2016 vs WSH L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 08:43
Mar 29, 2016 @ STL L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 18:16
Mar 28, 2016 @ NSH W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 17:56
Jan 22, 2016 vs STL W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 0 2 14:02
Jan 20, 2016 vs BUF W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 19:17
Jan 18, 2016 @ WPG W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22:36
Jan 16, 2016 @ CBJ L 1-2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 21:32
Jan 14, 2016 vs NJD W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 19:52
Nov 5, 2015 @ ARI L 2-4 0 0 0 -3 2 0 1 10:26
Oct 30, 2015 @ CAR L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:16
Oct 29, 2015 @ TBL W 2-1 0 0 0 2 2 0 3 11:59
Oct 27, 2015 @ FLA L 1-4 0 1 1 1 0 2 4 18:01
Oct 24, 2015 vs CBJ L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 4 15:15
Oct 21, 2015 vs CAR L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 15:35
Oct 18, 2015 @ LAK L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 15:40
Oct 16, 2015 @ ANA W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 17:06
Oct 14, 2015 vs BOS L 2-6 0 1 1 -2 0 2 2 21:57
Oct 10, 2015 vs DAL W 6-3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 5 15:59
Oct 8, 2015 vs MIN L 4-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 21:18