Vancouver Canucks defenceman Nikita Zadorov appears to be headed to the free agent market.

The team has been trying to reach a new deal with the bruising Russian blue liner since the end of the season, but have reached an impasse, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said Friday.

“I can’t overpay one single player,” he said. “And Nikita Zadorov was extremely good for us in the playoffs and a character guy. We did our best and he decided he wanted to go somewhere else.”