The Calgary Flames came into the 2023-24 season likely to be sellers, and after a controversial trade request, the team began that process by moving Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks. <h2>Nikita Zadorov reveals reason behind trade request</h2> <div align='center' style='padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;'><img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/353353.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /></div> After a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Zadorov made his trade request public, and weeks removed from the trade, he's now given his reasons for why it went down the way it did. <q>I wanted to stay there, but I did not get an offer... But everybody else did get offers, all the other UFA. So by that time, I think it was time to move in because we knew there were other teams that were super interesting.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/ryannpike/status/1737512728347181166?s=46&t=4MNxjnGk_z1vZNgS60EIEg&fbclid=IwAR3TkLT0ju-NDmLD5IJ5Z0Ql242KUDW_2AgP1tiwGKnLnlojCMctvRPewYU'> </a></blockquote></div> <h2>Understandable motives for the big time move</h2> With several UFA's next year, it has been reported separately that Calgary has had extension talks with Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Elias Lindholm, so it's easy to see why Zadorov was frustrated that he wasn't involved in any talks at all. Since moving to Vancouver, Zadorov has tallied just one point in his nine games on the game winning goal against his former team, and while there's plenty of hard feelings from the fans, it appears this was strictly a business move, with no hard feelings between the two sides that we know of.