Before we get started, we should address the elephant in the room. Nikita Zadorov’s departure adds another layer to the worst trade in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks. They traded an MVP caliber player in Artemi Panarin to the Columbus Blue Jackets to get Brandon Saad back. After a few years, they traded Saad to the Colorado Avalanche for Nikita Zadorov. Earlier in Saad’s career, they traded him away to the Blue Jackets for an awful return as well.
That means they have lost a trade involving Brandon Saad three times. It is a horrible chain of events for this team. Now, they traded Nikita Zadorov to the Calgary Flames for a 2022 third-round pick. The pick originally belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is a good individual trade for the Hawks as Zadorov made them a worse team for the most part but when you link it back to Panarin, it is sad.
