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Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev recently requested a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While he's not highly regarded in the public eye, especially in Toronto, there does seem to be a real market for the 27-year-old.
Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet 650 reported the Vancouver Canucks were among several interested parties.
Elliotte Friedman only added fuel to the fire when he mentioned those same Canucks, along with the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning, as teams he could see having interest in Zaitsev.
There are a lot of layers to this.
On one hand, Zaitsev is fairly solid defensively. Over the last two seasons, he ranks 1st or 2nd among the Leafs' top-4 defenders in suppressing shot attempts, chances, expected goals and actual goals on a per 60 basis.
He did this despite very heavy defensive usage. None of the other eight Leafs blueliners to log 600+ 5v5 minutes during that two-year window started fewer of their shifts in the offensive zone.
As far as in-zone defense goes (defending the cycle, marking forwards around the net, etc.), I think Zaitsev *is* good and might be the best of the bunch if he were added to New Jersey's blueline.
Acquiring Zaitsev and using him in a similar role would free up more offensively gifted players like Damon Severson and Ty Smith to play in more favorable situations to create.
Unfortunately, the lists of positives end there with Zaitsev.
He is not a good puck mover, to say the least. He might make a nice defensive play to help get the puck back, but chances are he'll miss the outlet while breaking out or simply fire the puck off the glass and throw away possession, resulting in his team immediately going back on its heels.
In terms of exiting the defensive zone with control, and effectively transporting the puck into the offensive zone, we're looking at a Steven Santini caliber package.
Zaitsev doesn't provide a lick of offense either. He has averaged just .68 points per 60 minutes of 5v5 play since entering the league in 2016-17. Ron Hainsey, Andrej Sustr, Robert Hagg and, yes, Santini are just a few of the names who have produced points at a higher clip.
It's even worse when it comes to shot generation. Zaitsev has registered just 2.84 shots on goal per 60, which ranks him 224th among 236 eligible defenders (1,000+ minutes).
While he might be an above average in-zone defender, he is horrible breaking out of the defensive zone, he is a possession anchor, he doesn't produce *any* offense, and he is not exactly cheap (he makes $4.5M per for five more years).
Looking at the overall package, he doesn't strike me as someone the analytically-inclined Devils will have much interest in.
Unless the Maple Leafs are willing to throw in a really nice sweetener to deal Zaitsev – which I don't think will be necessary based on the apparent level of interest – I would stay away.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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