Colorado Avalanche Running Short on Time to Sign Nikita Zadorov

The Colorado Avalanche are running out of time to sign Nikita Zadorov; Monday is July 31, the end of July…

After signing a trio of players — Matt Nieto, Rocco Grimaldi and Jesse Graham — the Colorado Avalanche made a little noise; however, they still haven’t made the noise all fans are waiting for, the signing of Nikita Zadorov.

In early July, reports surfaced that Zadorov had a mutual agreement with CSKA Moscow to sign with them if he didn’t have a deal with the Avs by the end of July. The end of July is on Monday…

That’s also the same KHL team where Mikhail Grigorenko recently signed a contract. Zadorov could have interest in reuniting with the one player he’s played on the same team with for his entire career.

So yes, while I like all the signings the Avalanche recently made, there is only one that matters right now. And, you have to wonder why signing Zadorov is not the priority. They should be working on getting a deal done with him first, and then move to the rest of the RFAs.

You have to wonder, if a deal is even going to happen at this point? That has to be in the back of every fan’s mind.

Will Zadorov Re-sign with the Avalanche?

If I had an answer, I’d give it to you. However, I still believe that the Avalanche will find a way to get a deal done. They have to.

He was the main piece in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, and he maintains that importance. He’s also one of only three defensemen currently on the roster who can play in the top four right now.

However, you have to wonder — if he hasn’t been signed already, then will the team actually be able to get a deal done?

Why are they focusing on signing depth players who are nowhere near as important as Zadorov before inking the deal with him?

Have Avalanche management come to conclusion that it just won’t happen because of the price Zadorov is asking for?

It seems pretty clear that the two sides are in agreement on two years for the term of the contract. So, now it’s all about the money.

I can’t imagine that both sides are millions of dollars off, it has to be just a few hundred thousand here and there. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a lot of money, more than I’ll ever see probably, but in the scheme of hockey it’s meager. Of course, I could most certainly be wrong, but it doesn’t matter either way.

In other words, I hope Joe Sakic is holding out as long as possible, but if it comes down to it on Monday, then Joe needs to make the call to Zadorov’s agent and ink the contract.

Conclusion

Nikita Zadorov is still very much undeveloped, but he is starting to put all the pieces of his game together. He will be a huge part of the future for this team.

I have faith that the Colorado Avalanche will figure this out. Still, you have to be a little nervous. I know that I am. The Avalanche cannot afford to let him go, and to me it seems like they are playing with fire.

Next: All About Avalanche Center Rocco Grimaldi

They’re already going to see Will Butcher hit the free agency market, and that spells the end of his days in the Avalanche organization.

Sakic can’t let Zadorov leave to the KHL and seriously try to convince the fans that he is running things in the direction he wants to head. He couldn’t possibly try and convince fans that the team will be better this coming season.

So, get the deal done Joe.