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- Thecakeisalie
Even though he was only six years old at the time, Nikita Zaitsev knew hockey would be part of his future in 1997.
He was that young when his parents, Igor and Elena, asked him what sport he wanted to play. Not sure of what to try, his mother took Nikita to the nearest hockey rink, which was over a half hour’s drive away.
“I loved it immediately,” Zaitsev said, as he sat in the Maple Leafs dressing room earlier this month. “One day, there was a practice at 6 a.m. My parents felt it was a bit too far and decided not to drive me and I was crying all day. And I didn’t talk to them.
“That became my life,” he added. “I just thought about hockey.”
Zaitsev was born and raised in Biryulyovo, one of Moscow’s poorest industrial suburbs. The crowded 8.5 square kilometre district is home to residents that include a mix of Russian and Muslim migrants, and tensions have always been high.
A few years ago, the neighbourhood made international headlines when a migrant resident allegedly stabbed a Russian citizen. Footage of the attack surfaced on the internet, inciting protesting and riots.
“It’s the roughest neighbourhood in Moscow,” Zaitsev said. “And the cheapest place to get an apartment. When I was 13 or 14, my dad built a house, and we got out of there.”
“It’s really far from the centre [of Moscow] and really working-class,” explained Slava Malamud, a Russian hockey journalist who knows the area. “A dull, gray Sovietscape.”
Hockey became Zaitsev’s distraction from the troubled world around him.
He especially admired the 1997 Detroit Red Wings, who used the Russian Five line of forwards Igor Larionov, Slava Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov with defencemen Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov. Zaitsev was only five years old in their heyday, but he watched them again and again thanks to an old VHS tape of their Stanley Cup run.
Zaitsev said his upbringing and education were strict. It was a hard way to grow up, but it instilled a commitment to all aspects of his life, in hockey, work and school. That carried over as Zaitsev grew up, when he came to Toronto as a young man to live and train with Gary Roberts, the former Leaf turned fitness guru.
He quickly earned a reputation in hockey circles for an unrelenting desire to get better.
“He has a work ethic and hunger that most Russian players do not have,” said one veteran hockey man who knows Zaitsev well but asked not to be named in this article.
Even though he went undrafted, some NHL teams were at least aware of the Russian prospect. Zaitsev, however, was 21 years old when he had his first KHL season with more than four points.
“Teams definitely knew about him, but there wasn’t enough there,” one NHL scout explained. “He slipped through the cracks.”
Interest really intensified after Zaitsev’s second season with CSKA Moscow in 2014-15, when he was 23. He had a career-best 12 goals and 32 points and drew suitors from multiple teams.
Zaitsev fulfilled the last year of his contract in the KHL before signing with the Leafs last May. He was already familiar with Toronto because he spent many summers training with Roberts in the city. “I was immediately impressed by the facilities here,” Zaitsev said. “Everything that I wanted in hockey was in this city.”
In 41 games this season, Zaitsev has averaged 22:29 of ice-time – second on the Leafs – playing primarily on the top defence pair with Morgan Reilly. He has 16 points, third among Leafs defenceman behind Jake Gardiner and Reilly.
What’s even more impressive is that he has routinely been matched against elite NHL players like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid and not looked out of place. His ice time, in fact, has been rising as the season has progressed.
“I’ve been wrong a whole bunch about a player,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said, after explaining how much he liked Zaitsev the first time he saw him play, in Russia. “You never know for sure until they get here. He’s been a real good player for us and obviously gives us a really good pairing.”
“I’m really proud of the way he has played,” said Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Radulov, Zaitsev’s friend and former teammate with CSKA and the Russian national team. “He’s a good skater and a top defenceman on the Leafs.”
Zaitsev has played so well that his next contract will likely be a difficult one for the Leafs.
The window for teams to re-sign players on one-year contracts opened on New Year’s Day. Because of his age, Zaitsev is on a one-year entry-level deal that pays him a base salary of only $925,000. Performances bonuses – many of which he is likely to hit – could push that up to $1.75-million.
Before the new year, Zaitsev signed on with a new agent, Dan Milstein, leaving behind a heavy hitter in Octagon Hockey’s Mike Liut. Milstein and Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello have already spoken about Zaitsev’s late change in representation.
Both sides are expected to meet again later this month as contract talks loom.
Milstein, the founder of a mortgage company based in Michigan, represents several Russian players, including Pavel Datsyuk and Nikita Nesterov. Milstein recently added both Zaitsev and Blackhawks star Artemi Panarin as clients, with Panarin citing language barriers as the reason for the change. (Milstein was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and speaks Russian.)
The late agent switch had no effect on the Blackhawks getting a deal done with Panarin, who signed a two-year, $12-million bridge contract to stay in Chicago just after Christmas.
The reason Zaitsev changed agents this close to when he needs a new contract is unclear. What makes his next agreement a difficult negotiation is the fact he has clearly earned Babcock’s trust as a top pair defenceman but has only done it for half a season – so far – in the NHL.
There is not much precedent for a player like that.
Zaitsev is a restricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning Toronto has some protection on their asset. Both the player and team have arbitration rights, too. A deal isn’t expected soon, as both sides want to get to the 70-game mark to determine if Zaitsev’s strong play is sustainable over a full season.
“Right now I don’t want to think about anything like that,” Zaitsev said of his contract status.
Another complicating factor could be the KHL. According to several sources, Zaitsev’s former team, CSKA Moscow, has “serious interest” in bringing the defenceman home, creating a situation where Toronto could be bidding against a wealthy Russian club.
While it’s believed Zaitsev wants to stay with the Leafs, he still has close ties with his hometown.
When his family flew to Toronto last month to watch several Leafs games, Zaitsev arranged for 27 sets of hockey equipment to be sent back to a team in need.
Zaitsev dreamed for years of playing hockey in Toronto, but he would likely make more money playing back home. Taxes are minimal in Russia – especially compared to Ontario – and KHL players do not pay escrow, which is 15 per cent in the NHL.
Although there have been reports of KHL teams not paying players this season, CSKA is also one of the safest bets in Russia’s top league.
Zaitsev won’t be an unrestricted free agent in the NHL until July 1, 2019, meaning he is likely two years away from a big payday in North America.
The second half of the season will be big for Zaitsev. He has found a fit with the Leafs and is performing well above what was expected from a newcomer. If he can continue to play top-pairing minutes and perform well, he will be in line for a significant raise.
The Leafs certainly hope he stays and helps them incorporate more Russian players into their lineup. Perhaps even as part of the next generation of the Russian Five.
“He’s a great role model for Nikita Soshnikov and Rinat Valiev – and anyone else we have coming [from Russia] in the future,” Babcock said.
“I really like it here,” Zaitsev said. “My family likes it here. I like my role here and am really appreciative of that.”
