<p>The Calgary Flames are bringing back a big piece of their defensive group. Literally. Big-bodied blueliner Nikita Zadorov has signed a two-year deal to stay a Flame, with a cap hit of $3.75 million. (This comes after the expiration of his previous one-year deal with an identical cap hit.)</p>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nikita Zadorov re-signs 2 year contract with the Calgary Flames. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreGoldStar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreGoldStar</a>! <a href="https://t.co/YhWTAcC5mx">pic.twitter.com/YhWTAcC5mx</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Dan Milstein-Hockey (@HockeyAgent1) <a href="https://twitter.com/HockeyAgent1/status/1547377112000221184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Originally acquired from Chicago last summer for a third-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft &#8211; the pick the Flames received from Toronto for David Rittich &#8211; Zadorov played the 2021-22 season on the third pairing, playing almost exclusively with Erik Gudbranson. He was a perfectly acceptable third-pairing defender, taking tough minutes and generally keeping the opposition to the outside.</p>
<p>The 27-year-old product of Moscow, Russia had a career-high 22 points in 74 games last season. He&#8217;s not a massive offensive presence, but he chips in every now and then.</p>
<p>Zadorov becomes the eighth defender that the Flames have signed to a one-way deal for 2022-23, joining Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Juuso Valimaki, Connor Mackey, Nicolas Meloche and Dennis Gilbert. And restricted free agent Oliver Kylington will also be signed to a one-way deal before the start of the season. In other words: there will be competition in training camp and some (hopefully tough) decisions for Flames brass to make when it comes to the opening roster.</p>
<h2><a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/junior/2021-22/tickets?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_campaign=WorldJuniors2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/junior/2021-22/tickets?utm_source%3Dreferral%26utm_medium%3Dpartner%26utm_campaign%3DWorldJuniors2022&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1657758851261000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07THzmIOIQZ9CHA1xUapvA">GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE WORLD JUNIORS</a></h2>
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<p>Want to watch the next generation of hockey stars before they make the show? The World Junior Championship is coming to Edmonton and this is your call to grab tickets! <a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/junior/2021-22/tickets?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_campaign=WorldJuniors2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/junior/2021-22/tickets?utm_source%3Dreferral%26utm_medium%3Dpartner%26utm_campaign%3DWorldJuniors2022&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1657758851261000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07THzmIOIQZ9CHA1xUapvA">Get your tickets here.</a></p>
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The Calgary Flames are bringing back a big piece of their defensive group. Literally. Big-bodied blueliner Nikita Zadorov has signed a two-year deal to stay a Flame, with a cap hit of $3.75 million. (This comes after the expiration of his previous one-year deal with an identical cap hit.)



https://twitter.com/HockeyAgent1/status/1547377112000221184

Originally acquired from Chicago last summer for a third-round selection in the 2022 NHL Draft - the pick the Flames received from Toronto for David Rittich - Zadorov played the 2021-22 season on the third pairing, playing almost exclusively with Erik Gudbranson. He was a perfectly acceptable third-pairing defender, taking tough minutes and generally keeping the opposition to the outside.

The 27-year-old product of Moscow, Russia had a career-high 22 points in 74 games last season. He's not a massive offensive presence, but he chips in every now and then.

Zadorov becomes the eighth defender that the Flames have signed to a one-way deal for 2022-23, joining Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Juuso Valimaki, Connor Mackey, Nicolas Meloche and Dennis Gilbert. And restricted free agent Oliver Kylington will also be signed to a one-way deal before the start of the season. In other words: there will be competition in training camp and some (hopefully tough) decisions for Flames brass to make when it comes to the opening roster.
<h2><a href="https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/junior/2021-22/tickets?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_campaign=WorldJuniors2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/team-canada/men/junior/2021-22/tickets?utm_source%3Dreferral%26utm_medium%3Dpartner%26utm_campaign%3DWorldJuniors2022&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1657758851261000&amp;usg=AOvVaw07THzmIOIQZ9CHA1xUapvA">GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE WORLD JUNIORS</a></h2>
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Flames re-sign Nikita Zadorov to two-year contract ($3.75 million AAV)

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