The Avalanche announced Friday they’ve signed Nikita Zadorov to a one-year contract. It’s worth $3.2 million, according to capfriendly.com, about a $1.1 million raise.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound defenseman was a restricted free agent.
Zadorov, 24, matched his career-high for goals in a season with seven last year and had 14 points and 75 penalty minutes in 70 games. He had 228 hits to lead the Avalanche in that category for the third season in a row and posted a career-best plus-19 plus/minus rating.
The Moscow native had no points, 24 penalty minutes and a team-best 59 hits in 12 playoff games.
“Z brings a tough, physical presence to our blue line," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a news release. "He is an important part of our back end and we are excited to have him under contract for next season."
Zadorov set career highs for goals (seven), assists (13), points (20) and games (77) in 2017-18 when he led the NHL and set an Avalanche record with 278 hits.
Acquired from Buffalo on June 26, 2015 as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade, Zadorov has 46 points (14 goals, 32 assists) and 263 penalty minutes in 225 games with the Avalanche.
The Sabres made him a first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2013 NHL draft.