Last summer, when free agency began, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made two big splashes when he signed Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to free-agent contracts. Or so Sweeney and the fans thought.
The 2024-25 season was a disaster for the Bruins right from the beginning, and that included the play of both Lindholm and Zadorov. They weren’t alone. It was a team effort that struggled from the opening face-off in Florida against the Panthers to the game-winning goal from the New Jersey Devils in overtime in the regular season final.
Continuing with our grades for the 2024-25 Boston Bruins season, it’s time to grade Zadorov’s first year in Boston and look at what the future might hold for the big blueliner.
Nikita Zadorov performance
During the season, it felt like Zadorov was wearing out the ice to the penalty box. He was penalized on what felt like a nightly basis, and for a team that struggled to score 5-on-5 or on their power play, they were shorthanded too much, and Zadorov was one of the main culprits.
As bad as he was at times this season, he got better as the season went along and finished with a plus/minus of plus-25, which on this Bruins team was stunning. He was durable, playing in 81 of the 82 games, and had four goals and 22 points. The 6-foot-6 defenseman won fans over in March when he took down Sam Bennett of the Panthers at the end of a Boston comeback win. It was a couple of years in the making as far as Black and Gold fans are concerned.
When the Bruins acquired Henri Jokiharju from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline after they shipped Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Zadorov and Jokiharju formed a rather good pairing under interim coach Joe Sacco. Something to ponder this off-season.
Nikita Zadorov moving forward
Zadorov isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, as he is someone who it wouldn’t be surprising to see have a bounce-back 2025-26 season. Jokiharju is an unrestricted free agent and it remains to be seen if he re-signed and possibly pair with Zadorov next season or Boston goes in a different direction.
Coming down the stretch of the season and in the breakup days interviews, Zadorov made it known that he wants to be part of a winner sooner rather than later, and he doesn’t want to see the Bruins waste David Pastrnak’s prime years. Like Lindholm, a full off-season in Boston could benefit Zadorov well going forward. Getting Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy back healthy will also go a long way in helping to turn things around on the backend.
