Nikita Zadorov delighted to ‘complement’ Bruins star’s game

The Boston Bruins added exactly what they wanted to their defensive unit in the form of Nikita Zadorov.

The massive 29-year-old defenseman, who resembles Zdeno Chara at 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds, brings the grit and skill the Bruins need on the blue line.

Zadorov also appears to be a natural fit to play alongside Charlie McAvoy on Boston’s top defensive pairing.

That certainly sounds good to Zadorov, who admired McAvoy from afar before signing a six-year, $30 million contract Monday to join the Bruins.

“With Charlie, I watched him a lot,” Zadorov told reporters, according to video provided by the team. “He’s one of my favorite defensemen in the league, for sure. The way he plays, he’s got guts. When he gets big hits in the box, I think I’ll be a good fit. He played unbelievable in the Toronto series. It was really fun to watch.”

“I have to go out there and complement him, help him be good. Maybe he can create something a little bit more offensively too because he can trust me to get behind him and help him and be aggressive. I like his aggressiveness too. I think that’s important in this league to be able to kill plays quickly and not give the team too much time in the defensive zone, the neutral zone, to close things out quickly. I think that’s important, for sure. We’ll see. When camp goes on, we’ll probably have more of a bond together and that’s pretty important.”

The Zadorov-McAvoy duo could help the Bruins star play more freely and open up his game as he enters his eighth NHL season. While McAvoy has had some success, he has yet to take over the game consistently as many expected when Boston drafted him 14th overall in 2016.

After finishing in the top five in Norris voting for two straight seasons, McAvoy took a slight step back last season, scoring a career-high 12 goals to go with 35 assists for 47 points — his lowest total since the 2020-21 campaign.

Perhaps a defenseman as big as Zadorov, who can take on some of McAvoy’s responsibilities, especially on defense, will be the key to unlocking McAvoy. And it appears that at least the Bruins will give the two a chance to play together.

“(Zadorov’s) releases are good. He’s a transporter, he finds the middle of the ice, which (coach Jim Montgomery) likes to do. So I think his ability to make the first pass complete,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters, per NESN. “Charlie focuses a lot on the forecheck and takes some physical hits as a result. I think (Zadorov) can maybe stop some of those outside shots at times and also complement each other from a puck-moving standpoint. So both guys can cover a lot of ice and play matchups in any way, on the road or off.”