The Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Filip Zadina on waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Zadina, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, has two years remaining on his $1.825M AAV contract. A lethal scorer at the junior level with the Halifax Mooseheads, Zadina turned pro immediately after the draft and spent his rookie professional season in the AHL.
He scored at a solid clip with Grand Rapids, potting 16 goals and 35 points in 59 games, a very respectable total for a teenage AHL rookie. He also scored three points in nine NHL for the Red Wings that year, flashing his offensive talent and showcasing why the consensus among scouts was that he would end up a star forward.
Zadina’s 2019-20 season was not a resounding leap forward but a solid step nonetheless, though as the pandemic wreaked havoc on pro hockey around the world Zadina’s development path was affected.
He never found a rhythm in his first season of full-time NHL duty and finished with 19 points in 49 games.
2021-22 was a continuation of Zadina’s struggles from the year before, and in his first full-length season in the NHL, he managed only 10 goals and 24 points. Then this past season Zadina only played in 30 NHL games and scored just seven points.
Set to turn 24 next November, it’s been clear for some time that a change of scenery would likely be necessary for Zadina to reach his potential at the NHL level.
With Jonatan Berggren a more effective winger at the NHL level and the Red Wings signing Daniel Sprong in free agency, Zadina simply ran out of chances on Detroit’s roster.
Drafted by a previous regime led by current Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland, Zadina’s draft status was only going to get him so far, and now he’ll either be claimed by another NHL franchise or likely begin the season in the AHL hoping to earn a call-up if other wingers ahead of him on the pecking order struggle or get injured.
While his $1.825M cap hit isn’t a massive number, in a flat-cap environment where so many teams are counting every last dollar available to them Zadina’s contract likely reduces the number of teams willing to acquire him by a decent degree.
Now all 31 other clubs will get a chance to add Zadina, and it remains to be seen if any team is confident enough in their development staff and what remains of Zadina’s former top prospect luster to take a chance on the final two years of his contract.
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