It’s nearly September and Nikita Zaitsev is still an Ottawa Senator.
Despite being a regular in the rumour mill and despite signs that he’s sort of fallen out of favour with Management and the Coaching Staff, Zaitsev and his rather unpleasant contract are still very much on the roster.
Now that’s not for a lack of trying. By all accounts, Dorion has gone to great lengths to try and find a taker for Zaitsev but to this point, nobody is biting. There was some speculation the Senators were close to moving him to Chicago at one point but Zaitsev used his 10-team NTC to nix the deal.
So for now anyway, Pierre Dorion and the Senators are operating under the assumption that Zaitsev will be on the roster when Training Camp starts in a few weeks. Disaster, right? Not really. Especially with the press box and waiver wire there as viable options.
See, there seems to be this lingering concern when it comes to Nikita Zaitsev’s mere presence on the roster. The thinking there is if he’s available, DJ Smith is going to play the hell out of him.
Not buying it.
One of the reasons DJ likes Nikita Zaitsev, and it’s probably a good lesson for other defenceman looking to steal a spot in Camp, is his “compete”. It’s a word that drives the analytics community wild primarily because it can’t be measured and because well, it doesn’t always equate to positive on-ice results.
DJ Smith likes Nikita Zaitsev for a couple reasons- his willingness to engage in one-on-one battles (especially along the boards and in front of the net) and his willingness to block shots. See, he can overlook some of that frantic “the puck is an actual grenade” moments we see from Zaitsev on occasion. because his compete level is up the roof.
You can certainly question that lens through which the Head Coach sees Zaitsev but there’s a silver lining here. If any other defenceman aspiring to be in the lineup on opening night can show a willingness to do those things AND they don’t get in regular fights with the puck, well then they will play. It’s that simple.
Pierre Dorion confirmed as much when talking about his defensive depth chart on TSN 1200 on Friday morning. Outside of three or four spots (and the spot reserved for Jakob Chychrun), the battle on the blueline is wide open. And it’s no accident that when Dorion started rhyming off the blueline locks, he skipped over Nikita Zaitsev.
One thing is clear- if Zaitsev does play on a regular basis, he’s going to be a lightning rod for criticism. Fans were already pretty hard on the guy but after a summer of rumours that the team would like to move on, the heat is now turned all the way up. Like Jared Cowen and Cody Ceci before him, Zaitsev has now entered that territory where fans are actively looking for mistakes in his game. Even if the goal against had nothing to do with him, some will go through the exercise of tracking back to the last thing Zaitsev did wrong, Losses will be blamed on him even in games he didn’t play. It’s not a great place to be for a player.
That’s sort of where things stand right now for Nikita Zaitsev. Unless the Senators can find someone to take his contract in the next few weeks, he’ll start the season on the roster.
But one thing is for sure- with fans, management and coaches- Nikita Zaitsev is on thin ice.
See, that was the title of the article. Really brought it home there.
