Nikita Zadorov says NHL is ‘protecting its investment’ after Soucy’s ban

I don’t know what it is, but for whatever reason, whenever someone puts a microphone in Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov’s face, he starts dropping lines like he’s standing in the middle of the ring and cut a WWE promo.

It started before Game 3 of the Canucks series against the Edmonton Oilers when Zadorov talked about how great and supportive the Oilers fans were…

…but that was because there was nothing else to do in Edmonton.

I don’t know if he meant to fire that rebound or not, and while it may have resulted in a few good-natured boos from the Oilers faithful, the events of Game 3 and his comments afterward will earn him some angry boos.

At the end of Game 3, Zadorov and his tag team defense partner Carson Soucy tested Oilers captain Connor McDavid, and Soucy hit him right in the chops.

Obviously the checks were cross-checks, but it was a bit of a crazy thing. The way McDavid moved after Zadorov’s cross-check put him in a bad position, causing Soucy’s shot to hit closer than it would have otherwise.

But a cross-check to the face will never go down well and resulted in Zadorov paying a fine while Soucy received a one-game ban and will miss Tuesday night’s fourth game.

Before the game, Zardorov spoke about the loss of Soucy and gave his thoughts on the penalty.

“(Soucy) is a big part of the team, of course it’s a big loss for us,” Zadorov said. “Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in. Sometimes social media and public opinions can cause certain people to make difficult decisions and, at the end of the day, make questionable decisions. They need to protect their investments. That’s how I understand the situation.” .

I mean… I understand that argument – that the league wants to protect McDavid; It’s the best player – but he’s been targeted, dude.

I can’t imagine the fans in Edmonton will give Zadorov a warm welcome in Game 4.