Filip Zadina Signs With The San Jose Sharks

Zadina, 23, signed a three-year extension before last season. But he had the contract terminated through mutual terms. In 30 games last season, Zadina recorded just seven points, including four goals with the Red Wings. Zadina scored career-high production in 2021-22. It was a season in which he produced 10 goals and 14 assists (for 24 points) across a 74-game set.

Zadina Contract Penned by San Jose

In the 2018 draft, Zadina fell to the Detroit Red Wings at the sixth selection. It was a position somewhat lower than projected in pre-draft reports. However, his NHL performances – already fairly inadequate – are particularly inadequate. Zadina confidently exclaimed to capitalize against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators by “filling their nets with pucks.” Indeed, he has done quite the opposite. His recent contract termination and revival of this expression have posed him rather negatively publicly.

Aspects of the game of Zadina are rather appealing and expandable development-wise. He is a skater with a strong and versatile lower body capable of achieving complex movements. In addition, with the awareness to deceive and connect the play to higher-danger areas with elite passing. Unfortunately, these traits were largely restricted in a Detroit system particularly void of rush offence. This restricted the flow of offensive opportunity for Zadina. Productive struggles, while apparent throughout the Red Wings lineup, particularly inhibited Zadina, with a pitiful shooting percentage of 4.54 percent (Evolving-Hockey) last season and shooting percentage marks below average in all three seasons to date.

At the age of 23, plenty of developmental opportunities await Zadina. For example, playing time with a Sharks team some considerable time from playoff contention, geared with a well-touted development staff directing the team’s main direction as one of opportunity for substantial development for younger players, should expand some of Zadina’s skill expression and play reading against higher-quality competition.  

Sharks Lineup with Zadina

The Filip Zadina contract makes sense for the Sharks. Zadina is another acquisition apparently intending to tune the Sharks’ offence to that of a greater rush attacking style and possession-based style. This approach, while limited by the general forward depth of the team, is most supportive of the player development efforts in place for the Sharks in their forward prospects; Zadina’s new teammate in William Eklund is the most notable manifestation of these efforts. Again, contention is far from reach for the Sharks, but strong execution of these efforts may construct the next core for a future San Jose Sharks lineup.