Quoting: MGM9296
So he's there to bring physicality, right? He already costs a lot for that and he is only going to want more. That's why I don't see him staying around too much longer.
So Adam Foote wouldn't have been worth keeping by your definition (and I'm not comparing the two directly as Foote was great at what he did, Zads could get to that level as he's still comparatively young and has really only just put it together but the similarities are there), though I appreciate he wasn't in much of the salary cap era. To my mind the Avs dumped the wrong D when they lost him, and it showed (we also lost Blake shortly after if I remember correctly, when it was basically the choice between keeping Foote or Blake, and I reckon Foote was also the one who was more loyal and less mercenary, and almost certainly cost less than Blake. The Avs were scrambling to get under the cap before it hit). Interestingly Foote won a gold in both the Olympics and Worlds. Seems big physical Dmen can't be world class and worth the money right? Foote made his international debut at 24, Zadorov at 23. A much less talented Russian team (by comparison to the Canadian teams that won golds) won bronze. You're telling me a good, physical D isn't worth keeping? Foote was also actually decent going forward too (though he didn't do it very often, but see his OHL stats and watch the few times he did it in the NHL), but played the role he was asked to because he was good at it and the Avs needed it. Foote stayed at home to allow Blake to roam (and though Blake was much bigger and more physical than Barrie or Makar, they play a similar game in going forward and roaming if not more so, but you don't need a solid, physical D to cover that of course) Sound familiar yet? You want to move to a comparatively soft veteran (34) who is your biggest at 6'4 221, and has durability issues, a 'chippy', 'nasty', D at 6'3 205 (who'll be 25 if he's got into the NHL), and a bunch of smaller, skilled Dmen who are going to get knocked from pillar to post then be my guest, and the only reason Boston would want Zads is because they've been missing big Z. Where else is your grit and sandpaper coming from in this line up? Meloche who's a maybe and is only two years younger than Zadorov and still hasn't cracked the line up, Landeskog, and maaaybe Kadri & Compher (J.T. is more of a pest).
Edit: I also think Zadorov will be on the top line pairing covering Makar at this point, with them using the Makar/Girard pairing consistently on the PP. Zads would also be one of your top, if not THE top, PK D by this point.