ADDING SOME MUSCLE

Talk about getting off on the right foot.
Or, in this case… fist.
"The boys already added me to the group chat," laughed the Flames' newest acquisition, Nikita Zadorov. "Looch said, 'Now we can punch guys together!
"It's exciting.
"That was the first text that we sent to each other."

How quickly things change.
The 26-year-old defenceman was thorn in the side of the Flames in the 2019 playoffs, and again drew the ire of the locals later that fall, sparring with Milan Lucic after things got messy in a spirited battle between the Flames and Colorado Avalanche.
But in the early hours of the NHL's Free Agent Frenzy, the Flames turned to the trade market to address a need on the backend.
In the process, enemies became friends.
Teammates.
And above all, allies.
"Obviously, we had our little dust-up there a couple of years ago," recalled Lucic. "I thought I'd be funny [to text him] and kind of make light of the situation, to help him feel comfortable with the group. We all know how hockey is - what happens on the ice, stays on the ice. Now that we're teammates, we'll be in the battles and the fights together.
"I'm excited to have him a part of the group. He obviously adds some size and some meat back there and that's going to be great for our team."
Zadorov is a stay-at-home defenceman that will provide some much-needed muscle on the blueline. In 411 career games with the Buffalo Sabres, Avalanche and last year with the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-foot-6, 235-lb. behemoth has 23 goals, 83 points and 419 penalty minutes. He's consistently among the league leaders in hits, finishing seventh last year with an average of 3.45 per game.
And when he hits, it hurts. Just ask those on the receiving end of his more than 1,000 career wallops.
"It's a presence," Lucic said. "Not only that, but he's really strong on his feet, he makes big hits, he wins battles, and does all those little things at the same time.
"Sure, he's big - but he uses it well. You feel it.
"Even for a guy my size, you know there's a lot of strength coming your way when you go into a battle with him."

Zadorov had a feeling a trade might be in the works. He saw his name circulating in various trade rumours over the past few days, and with contract discussions with the Blackhawks at a virtual standstill, he was destined to be on the move.
Turns out, he was right - and the call came down when he was out for a little family outing at the zoo.
(His wife, Aleksandra, and two daughters, Sophie and Stephanie, are all equally excited to live in Canada again.)
Since then, it's been a bit of a whirlwind. He's only had a brief interaction with those in the organization so far, but he likes what he sees and feels his style of game will gel nicely with a group looking to make some noise this year.
"I spoke to (Head Coach) Darryl (Sutter), but it was a quick chat," Zadorov said when asked what his role will look like this year. "He kind of welcomed me to the team. I mean, I probably expect the role that I'm going to play...I've probably played the same role in Chicago - a shutdown D.
"I can play top-four minutes easily, I can play pretty (well) on the PK, play against the best players on the other team and try to shut them down, and I can also play with young guys.
"I can do anything they want me to do."
Zadorov played more than 97 minutes on the penalty kill last year - third-most on the Blackhawks - and had strong results, allowing only nine goals in that span.
It's an area the Flames wanted to shore up, with the departure of Mark Giordano to the Seattle Kraken last week.
It was a perfect fit.
And the feeling is mutual.
"I'm familiar with the team," Zadorov said, citing the heated, playoff history between the two. "Looking at it (on) paper, it looks pretty good. We have a solid top-four D. We have some young guys coming up on the backend as well. We have good goaltending. I've played against (Markstrom) enough. I know he's a really, really good goalie.
"We also have a bunch of great forwards up front. I'm not sure what was the problem to make playoffs last year, because we played in the different division so it was hard to follow. But for me, whatever I can control, I will.
"I'll bring my best game to help the team to make the playoffs and make a good run."