Are Sabres, Zadorov Nearing A Showdown?

Oct 28, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman

(61) and Dallas Stars right wing

(12) fight for a loose puck during the third period at First Niagara Center. The Stars beat the Sabres 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

As the Buffalo Sabres began this season all eyes were firmly planted on 2nd overall pick Sam Reinhart and how he would look after his first nine games. Well that answer was provided when Reinhart was sent back to Kootenay of the Western Hockey League, discussed here in The Buffalo News. Well there is another young talent that the Sabres need to address, one that has seen significantly less ice time this year. Playing in only one game thus far, 19 year old Nikita Zadorov is itching for some ice time and preferably with Buffalo. That said, his agent has been quite vocal about Zadorov looking at the KHL as an option. This has created quite a bit of uncertainty and tension around Zadorov, which GM Tim Murray addressed in greater detail here.

You can bet when Murray says his focus is now Zadorov as he did in the above prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com article he will determine what the plan is for his young defenseman and then do what is in the best interest of the franchise. But what exactly is that? It seems the Sabres certainly risk losing Zadorov if they attempt to send him back to juniors. So what are the alternatives?

Murray can elect to do exactly what he is doing now, keeping Zadorov with the big club and using him as the 7th defenseman. Obviously this is not ideal for a young man chomping at the bit to show what he can do in the league and can lead to another distraction on a team that needs anything but another sideshow. How long would Murray put up with that? Or Zadorovs’ agent for that matter? This option could get ugly quickly.

So why not play him? If you are Murray you’ve already met the salary floor with deals such as the one handed to Andrej Meszaros. And it’s not like he or Mike Weber or any of the Sabres blueliners are lighting the world on fire. While it would be tough to sit Josh Gorges, Tyler Myers, or Rasmus Ristolainen, you can’t tell me that Meszaros or Mike Weber wouldn’t be a fair candidate to sit down and allow Zadorov a chance to show what he can do. I think it shows a lot of heart to be frustrated in not playing when you know darn well the team on the ice is not going to be competitive. Is he selfish in looking for ice time or does he believe he can make an impact?

Either way, why not take a look at what you have in him. Zadorov was a first round pick the same draft as Ristolainen. Yes, Zadorov is more of a project. But playing in the league right away doesn’t have to ruin everyone that tries it. Traditionally defense takes a very long time to learn at the NHL level, just ask Tyler Myers. But Zemgus Girgensons stepped in right away and is one of the few players on the Sabres whom shows up to play night in and night out.

If Zadorov steps in and plays very well, is it going to be so well that it sets back the Sabres plan to finish near the bottom of the league? Not unless he scores 40 goals. And if he plays poorly then it serves as a reality check for him and he can learn a valuable lesson in patience. Either way, you will see what you have in one of your high draft picks and potential future building blocks of the franchise.

I say hand him his jersey, give him some ice time and let him show what he can do.