NHL has
suspended Vancouver Canucks defenseman
Nikita Zadorov for two games. The Russian player performed an illegal check on
Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings on February 10. The Department of Player Safety handed down the suspension on the night following the game. In addition, the Canucks lost the game 4-3 after an overtime play.
Nikita Zadorov: Coming In Hot
In the second period, at 4:11,
Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond was carrying the puck into the neutral zone. Nikita Zadorov of the Vancouver Canucks was barreling down the ice toward the Detroit Red Wings defense zone when he collided with Raymond. Despite the puck having already been given over to the Canucks, Zadorov shoved his upper arm into Raymond’s head, potentially at a play for submission. As a result, Raymond dropped and entered concussion protocol but was able to make it back to his feet and eventually returned to the game.
Zadorov received a match penalty because of the hit. The
Department of Player Safety announced, only hours after the game ended, the illegal check fits the regulations that require it to be called. Those requirements were that the hit was to the head and that the hit could have been avoided. Under those circumstances, the league subsequently suspended Zadorove after the Canucks’ 4-3 overtime loss.
Afterward, the Red Wings Coach Derek Lalonde said, “I don’t like that hit. That’s the classic blindside that the league has been trying to get out of the league for an awful long time.”
As for how Raymond was doing, Lalonde said, “He seemed good. He had a good practice today. Obviously, a scary hit.”
Nikita Zadorov: History
Zadorov, who has an impressive frame at six-foot-six and 220 pounds, has a total of 136 points in 615 career games. The Buffalo Sabres selected him as the 16th overall pick of the 2013 season when he was playing with them. In this season alone, he has one goal and nine assists, adding up to 10 points in 48 games between his time with the Calgary Flames and Canucks. He was traded from the former to the latter during the season.
According to the rules of the
Collective Bargaining Agreement, Zadorov has to forfeit a certain amount of money based on his current salary. That money will go to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. In taking his average annual salary into account, Zadorov is expected to forfeit roughly $39,062.50.
This is Zadorov’s first time being fined and suspended by the NHL.
What’s In Store
The Canucks are currently on a five-game road trip that will end Tuesday with the Chicago Blackhawks. Zadorov will sit out the next two games and will come back for the Thursday game at home against the Red Wings. All things considered, one could only expect their rematch is going to be an interesting one.
The next game for the Canucks is against the Washington Capitals this Sunday.