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HC Jim Montgomery makes his feelings known about $30,000,000 Boston Bruins D-man's performance so far
Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery shared his assessment of defenseman Nikita Zadorov's play this season. Zadorov was signed to a six-year, $30 million contract in the offseason with a $5 million annual cap hit.
Through 14 games, he has contributed four assists, a +3 plus/minus rating, 25 penalty minutes and is averaging 19:01 of ice time per game. When asked about the big defenseman's performances so far, Montgomery acknowledged some inconsistency.
"I don’t see him pressing. I think overall he’s finding his way in our systems, and I think at times he looks like he’s understanding exactly what we’re trying to accomplish, and at times he looks like he’s not," said the coach in Thursday’s press conference.
The 27-year-old Zadorov is already on his sixth NHL team, which raises some questions.
Former player turned analyst Pierre McGuire discussed Zadorov's performance on podcast TheSkatePod. McGuire said:
"He's very nasty, the biggest thing with him, and I don't want to scare Bruins fans. He got be receptive to coaching. He moved around a lot, and when you’re a player that big, that fast, that tough, the question starts to be why he moved around so much? Those are hard guys to find."
McGuire also pointed out that the guys who worked with Zadorov over time like him as a person. He hopes that Zadorov can be more receptive to coaching, so he can be a very good player for the Bruins.
Nikita Zadorov shares his thoughts on playing for Boston Bruins
Nikita Zadorov offered his perspective on playing for the Boston Bruins this season after their 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins hold a 6-7-1 record.
"I think the last five games I've really gotten into it, and it's been good, it's been easy so far," Zadorov said.
"Obviously we're in a little bit of a slump right now. The puck's not going in, every rebound is going back to us. We're trying to be positive in here and all the guys are trying to work together, but when the unit of five works within the system, I think the system is perfect for us."
The Boston Bruins are looking to break out of their slump as they take on the Calgary Flames.
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