Nikita Zadorov Shuts Down Talk That He Nixed Offseason Trade to Oilers

Finding Darnell Nurse a new home this offseason wasn’t all that easy for the Edmonton Oilers, and it came with several speed bumps along the way before they ultimately struck a deal with the San Jose Sharks.

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San Jose wasn’t initially on Nurse’s list of preferred destinations, which began with teams out east in Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Nothing ever appeared to come close with either of the Pennsylvania teams, but one report during the summer suggested that the Oilers and Bruins had a deal in place for the veteran defenseman that would have sent fellow veteran blueliner Nikita Zadorov back the other way to Edmonton.

The problem was that Zadorov reportedly declined to waive his no-trade clause, putting an end to that possibility. However, on Sunday, when asked about it he shut down the idea of that ever happening.

Zadorov said:

“It’s not true. It was something from the imagination. You’ve been in hockey for a long time and that trade wouldn’t have made sense for anybody, especially for this team. That’s why everyone put it away right away…I have a contract here. I love it here and I enjoy playing with the guys and everything,”

The 31-year-old Zadorov still has four years remaining on the six-year, $30 million contract he signed to join the Bruins as a UFA in 2024. He posted 22 points (two goals, 20 assists) in 81 games last regular season to go with 196 hits and 102 blocked shots.

All turned out fine in the end, as Edmonton wound up doing quite well shedding Nurse’s full contract while landing a young defenseman with some potential in Shakir Mukhamadullin.

That being said, Zadorov is a solid, physical, playoff-style defenseman that opponents certainly don’t like seeing, so he would have been a nice addition to the left side of the Oilers’ blue line had this come to fruition.

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