Chicago Blackhawks: The two trades that were never made

Nikita Zadorov is going to stick around with the Chicago Blackhawks for now.

The Chicago Blackhawks decided not to trade Nikita Zadorov. It was interesting that he was in the conversation to be traded because of the fact that they gave up Brandon Saad to get him. We already know that the Hawks lost three trades that included Saad but Zadorov could be useful to them later on. Trading him now probably wouldn’t have got them anything that was worth it.

Zadorov has one goal and six assists for seven points in 42 games for the Hawks this season. He isn’t known for being an offensive-minded defenseman at all. In fact, defensive positioning and stick work is the biggest part of his game. He isn’t a perfect defenseman by any means but he is also only 25 years old and will be 26 pretty soon. There is a lot of room left for improvement on the part of Zadorov.

After this season is over, Zadorov is going to be a restricted free agent. The Hawks will hold his rights which means they will need to get him signed before the start of the 2021-22 season. They could also decide to trade him after the season before the draft (or during) but at this point, they might as well try to include him as a part of the future. There is a lot more to find out about his ceiling with this team.

Both of these players could have been traded but they were meant to finish the season in Chicago. We don’t know what the future holds for the long term but whatever it is, we can only hope that it helps the team in the long run.