Matt Vautour: Maligned Bruins’ defensman is better than you think

There hasn’t been a lot to like for the 2024-25 Bruins, but as they figure out who to build around going forward, Nikita Zadorov has been much better than he’s been portrayed.

Because the Bruins spent a lot of money on free agents this offseason, and they’ve been a huge disappointment, Zadorov has been treated as guilty by association. Elias Lindholm has been incredibly disappointing. The Bruins paid him to produce like a No. 1 center and he’s played like a No. 3.

Because he and Zadorov signed at the same time and their slow starts coincided with the Bruins’ early woes, they were paired into the group of disappointing newcomers together. That reputation has stuck.

But while Lindholm’s struggles have been season-long, Zadorov has gotten better. He’s become a physical defenseman, who is effective in his own end, which is what the Bruins signed him to be. If they were in the playoffs, he’d be a valuable commodity.

Zadorov leads the NHL with 135 penalty minutes, but the numbers are a little misleading.

At the beginning of the season, he took too many ill-advised infractions that put the team in difficult spots. Since Jan. 1, that hasn’t been an issue.

Of his 135 penalty minutes, 35 of those came five at a time on seven fights —all matching penalties, so nobody had to kill them. He had another 6 minutes on matching roughing calls. Again, no man-advantages.

Zadorov has received three misconducts, all at the end of games. Not only are those penalties a team doesn’t have to kill, but his combined game action missed for the 30 minutes of penalties he was credited with was 4 minutes, 11 seconds.

The only critical penalties are those put an opponent on the power play. Since Jan. 1, Zadorov has taken 11 of those in 33 games compared to 21 in 35 games before New Year’s.

On top of that, on a Bruins team that has a -50 goal differential, he’s +14. Plus-minus is an imperfect stat for a lot of reasons, but his certainly stands out on the Bruins.

Patriots are better equipped to add Diggs

On the surface, the Patriots potentially added a significant upgrade at receiver in Stefon Diggs.

That alone is a huge positive and worth celebrating. But there’s another level worth exploring in bringing Diggs aboard that speaks well of the future.

Diggs has a reputation as being a diva. Even among receivers, who are a diva lot by nature, he’s known as someone who can be disruptive to play with if he’s not getting the ball enough. That reputation followed him from Minnesota to Buffalo.

Folks in Houston, where he helped C.J. Stroud thrive as a rookie, have downplayed any concerns, but it was a short stint.

The Patriots couldn’t have made this move last year, at least they shouldn’t have even if Diggs had been available. They needed a receiver every bit as much, but the structure of their culture wasn’t equipped to handle the risk Diggs presented.

Drake Maye was a rookie and hadn’t been installed as the starter. Jerod Mayo was a first-time head coach. People didn’t realize it yet, but Mayo and his inexperienced staff weren’t capable of dealing with all of the transition that came when Bill Belichick was deposed.

Plus, putting an entitled Diggs in a locker room with two rookie receivers, whose maturity was at best a work in progress and a young quarterback trying to establish himself as both a player and leader could have been disastrous and damaging to Maye’s development.

The biggest difference is Mike Vrabel. With him at the helm, the coaching staff is stronger now. Plus Maye has his feet underneath him and Diggs is coming off an injury with something to prove.

It still might not work, but it’s got a much better chance.

Real Jeopardy! Clue

Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date:

MORE – CATEGORY: HOME RUN SLUGGERS $800 – July 10, 2006

As of opening day 2006, Carlos Delgado is the last to hit this record-tying number of homers in a game

— Answer below

Hurley should go full heel

NCAA Uconn Florida Basketball — Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley, left, reacts to a call by referees during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Florida, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)AP

At this point, Dan Hurley isn’t going to shed his reputation as a crazy-eyed, egomaniacal, ref-baiting madman. So, the UConn coach should embrace it. It’s his brand, it’s often entertaining and lots of people love it. He can be an Earl Weaver/Mike Ditka/John McEnroe for a new era.

Boston Legacy F.C.

Since I ripped the Boston entry to the NWSL for their original ill-advised BOS Nation FC team name, l’ll give them credit for recognizing their mistake and fixing it. Boston Legacy FC is boring, but boring is the right move on take two.