Flames' Zadorov Becoming Trade Candidate

Despite contracts being worked on with the Calgary Flames, nothing has come of it yet. Many expected a better season by the Flames after firing Darryl Sutter because players would want to come to work everyday and enjoy being there.

Well the season hasn't started the way they envisioned as the Flames are 2-4-1 and have lost three in a row. Nikita Zadorov made some comments about the team right now stating, "well last season was different...it was Darrul. Now there's no Darryl, so there's no excuses. You know what I mean? You don't like hard coaches, you don't like good coaches?...You play hard, you leave everything on the ice. That's how simple it is."

Zadorov is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and there has been no talks about keeping him around despite the good work he's done. Maybe the Flames are just more focused on Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin to let Zadorov stew on the last year of his deal. We've seen it happen recently with Tyler Toffoli's next potential deal being neglected and then the player asking for a trade.

If things don't improve, we know how Zadorov feels about how the team is playing and players are handling the coaching change. He might not want to stick around if it's going to be the same old song and dance. If the Flames also continue to struggle, he would be a nice trade candidate for the Flames to move by the deadline. Teams are always looking for a menacing defensive defenseman who can also put the puck in the net.

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