Nikita Zadorov Linked To Maple Leafs After Agent's Comment

Sunday, October 18, 2026 ,
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It was an eventful weekend for the Boston Bruins' bruising defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Friday night, he took an unnecessary double-minor against the Anaheim Ducks for roughing up Frank Vatrano not once, but twice.
Boston head coach Marco Sturm then sat Zadorov on Saturday night's game with a surprising healthy scratch. The coach admitted it was for "disciplinary" reasons for the big D-man's actions on the ice the night before. 

Naturally, the benching didn't sit well with Zadorov—or his outspoken agent Dan Milstein. In fact, when a Twitter user posted a comment that the defenseman wouldn't be treated like that if he were a Toronto Maple Leaf, Milstein actually responded, sparking a Zadorov-to-Toronto rumor: 

"No, he would not..." be treated that way in Toronto, said Milstein. 

This is certainly intriguing timing, as the Leafs are definitely in the market for an impact defenseman, as noted by Elliotte Friedman Saturday night. The 6'7" Zadorov, who has averaged about 200 hits and 100 blocked shots in each of the last two seasons with the Bruins, would certainly bring some qualities to the Leafs' blueline that have been lacking. 

Additionally, as hockey analyst and podcaster Jesse Blake noted, this isn't the first time that Zadorov has been linked to Toronto, AND that Milstein has fanned the flames, so to speak, of a trade to said Leafs. 

In 2023, while Zadorov was a Calgary Flame, he requested a trade, and Milstein posted this:

"Here comes Zadorov train… get your #LeafsForever tickets today…"

Insider Chris Johnston had tweeted the day before that Zadorov "would welcome a trade to Toronto," as pointed out by Blake. 

Back to this weekend's shenanigans, Zadorov missing a game in Boston is a pretty rare occurrence. 

This is all some pretty wild stuff, and we'll see if there's any fire around this smoke, regarding Zadorov & The Big Smoke. 

Blake, however, points to Zadorov's age (31), his constant time spent in the penalty box (led the NHL in PIM each of the past two years), and the controversies that follow him around. "There's no way (GM) John Chayka looks at 31-year-old Nikita Zadorov, who's the King of Penalties, and clearly, controversy follows him wherever he goes, he can't look at that and say, 'This is a solution to my problem.'...

"They're not looking for just a stopgap... He's not a long-term solution on the back end for the Maple Leafs... It's not a real thing in my eye... There's no logic there."

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