Bruins' defenseman Nikita Zadorov explains reason for his new number in Boston

When free agency began, Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney was looking to add to his defense, and boy did he. Sweeney was able to get Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov to sign a five-year, $30 million contract to add some thump to the backend.

The 29-year-old left-shot wasted little time coming to Boston as he was in town one week after agreeing to a deal and he revealed his new number he'll wear with the Black and Gold. In fact, the number he picked has only been worn by one other player and it was one where the player was a fan-favorite.

Nikita Zadorov will wear Marc Savard's No. 91 with the Bruins

When the season begins, Zadorov will wear No. 91, the same number worn by former Bruins forward Marc Savard. Believe it or not, Zadorov and Savard have a history as Savard was an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames last season where Zadorov played before being traded to Vancouver.

Zadorov explained why he picked 91 to wear beginning in 2024-25.

Why 91? Upside down 16. Wore 16 my whole life pretty much. Like I said, it’s the worst part of playing on a Original Six team because a lot of numbers are retired and take a lot of history obviously. So when I got traded to Vancouver, we were thinking about the number because 16 is retired over there as well. So 91 was good.

The No. 16 is hanging from the rafters of the TD Garden after being worn by former Bruins legend Rick Middleton. Known as "Nifty", in 12 years with Boston, he had 402 goals and 496 assists in 881 career games. Zadorov knew that coming to the Bruins, an Original Six franchise would cause a number change from the 16 that he wore with some of his previous stops because of all the history the franchise has had in its 100 years. He seems very happy with 91 going forward with an organization he feels is ready to win.