Vancouver Canucks may be forced to trade player due to potential character issues

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Liam McCormick
January 30, 2024 (8:09)

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The Vancouver Canucks have been an incredible success this year, and they've made the decision to go all-in this year. They've already made an early trade to bolster their blue line with Nikita Zadorov, and are expected to acquire more before the deadline. However, now reports are surfacing that the Zadorov trade isn't working out for several reasons, and the Canucks may look to correct course.

Earlier today, Elliotte Friedman reported on the Jeff Marek Show that the Canucks are considering moving Zadorov to free up cap space for other places on the roster. Zadorov is owed $3.75M until the end of this season.

Now, another report has surfaced from Canucks reporter Don Taylor on Canucks Central. According to Taylor, the Canucks may not be so happy with Zadorov off the ice and are concerned with his fit in the locker room - perhaps speaking to some character issues with Zadorov or tensions between teammates.

If this is true, it's incredible that the Canucks' trade for Zadorov could be so short lived. He's been hailed throughout the league as a quality shutdown defender, and is a rare breed of a monster right handed defenceman, but after just 24 games the Canucks are seeing this as a mistake and potentially looking to correct course.