Boston Bruins fans will always have a soft spot for a large defenseman who attempts to take people's heads off when he gets mad. Nikita Zadorov throws at least one hit per game where you fear for the other player's safety, and in true Boston fashion, we love it. However, when multiple frustrating things outweigh those one or two hits, we might be developing a problem.
My biggest concern with Zadorov is that he is visibly struggling to keep up with a game that is only getting faster. The big man may have some great straight-line speed when he gets a full head of steam, but when shifty forwards force him to move laterally, Jeremy Swayman or Michael DiPietro may as well guarantee that a chance is coming their way.
Sometimes Zadorov manages to ride a player off into the boards or stick a hip out, but the opposition is starting to figure out how to exploit his lack of agility, and it is becoming a massive problem for Boston's rush defense. Zadorov knows it too, and when players start beating him, his frustration causes even more problems.
Nikita Zadorov's penalty issues are becoming a concern
The reaching in with his stick penalties that lead to tripping calls are expected when you're slower than everyone else, but it's when he puts himself ahead of his teammates to take out his frustrations that the coaching staff is going to have to draw the line. The four-minute penalty he took on Frank Vatrano on Friday night was some of the most undisciplined play we've seen in the league this season.
Zadorov got a double minor for interfering and then roughing Frank Vatrano 😳 pic.twitter.com/CGrSLKhm3p
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 17, 2026
I don't want to hear the argument that the first penalty shouldn't have been elbowing and Zadorov dove. It was a blatant interference penalty that the referees got wrong by calling it an elbow, but two minutes is two minutes. Then, the retaliatory penalty with your team trailing by one goal late in the second period was something that a "good leader" probably shouldn't be doing.
While we are picking out Zadorov's flaws, there is one more thing that frustrates some fans to no end when watching him. Some of his decision-making with the puck is brutal to watch, and while there is no official stat that tracks it, his icings/60 has to be off the charts, as there is at least a couple times per game where he blindly fires a puck down the ice.
What can head coach Marco Sturm do? The Bruins have an abundance of defensemen since Charlie McAvoy returned, and Connor Clifton was playing well before he drew out of the lineup. Maybe its time to sit the Russian defensemen in the press box for a game to see if he learns from his mistakes. He is easily the worst defenseman dressed in the lineup with all the mistakes he makes that costs the team.
Zadorov gets a bit of a pass with his contract because he signed the same day as Elias Lindholm. However, fans need to worry about what he is going to look like over the next three seasons, and whether they stomach watching his mistakes until the end of the 2029-30 season. I'm not so sure I can do it anymore.
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