The Red Wings waived Filip Zadina today, and Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman informed the media that the team did so at the request of the player.
After attempting to trade Zadina, who has 2 years left on a 3-year contract, Yzerman and the Wings were unable to reach an agreement, so they acquiesced to Zadina’s desire to get a “fresh start” and a more meaningful role on another team by waiving him.
97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield took note of Yzerman’s remarks regarding Zadina…
“Am I thrilled? Am I happy to put him on waivers? No. I signed him to a three-year contract a year ago because I believed he was going to grow,” Yzerman said. “And when he signed that contract, my expectation was that he wanted to grow with us.”
Instead, Zadina came out of last season, his fifth with the Red Wings, seeking an opportunity to grow elsewhere. He requested a trade ahead of last week’s NHL Draft. And when Yzerman couldn’t find any takers, waiving Zadina was the only way to accommodate the 23-year-old’s wish.
“A couple weeks prior to the draft, through his agent, he had asked if he could potentially go somewhere else, looking for more opportunity, a fresh start,” Yzerman said. “So I’ve tried to find a place for him to play, somebody who was interested in Filip would maybe give him that opportunity. I haven’t been able to do that. So I put him on waivers today, trying to give him an opportunity to go to an organization if he wants to play more. We’ll see if that happens.”
As did the Free Press’s Helene St. James…
Zadina could be the third recent first-round pick to wash out of the Wings’ organization. Forward Evgeny Svechnikov, drafted No. 19 in 2015, also went through waivers, and ended up just not being re-signed. (Svechnikov has since put up 15 goals and 18 assists in 131 games over two seasons with San Jose and Winnipeg.) Defenseman Dennis Cholowski, drafted No. 20 in 2016, was exposed in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft in the summer of 2021 and has failed to establish himself with any NHL team. Although every team whiffs in the draft, it has been a significant setback for the Wings in their rebuild to see one after another first-round pick disappoint.
“Theoretically, or statistically, the higher players are picked, the more likelihood you are going to get an impact player,” Yzerman said. “There’s no guarantees. The first pick overall, you’re getting a pretty good player, sometimes a superstar. With each pick, the numbers decrease a little bit. When you get into the late first round, the reality is —there’s not a lot of certainty to it.
“I’m not completely shocked, because it happens all around the league. And that’s just the reality of having the draft at such an early age. Filip was picked at sixth. I don’t write his career off by any means.”
And Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…
Don’t rule out Zadina being in Detroit for the 2023-24 season.
“The best case scenario, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility, is that he clears waivers, he comes to training camp, he plays well, works his way up into the lineup and goes,” Yzerman said. “Filip Zadina is a good young man, he’s a nice young man. He was a high and with high picks there comes expectations from the outside and from within. He was picked sixth overall. He’s told by the Red Wings and by the league that he’s a very good prospect. Not everybody matures or evolves at the same stage. He’s gotta stick with it. And unfortunately now, the situation is if he doesn’t get claimed, he’s with our organization and there’s not much we can do other than both work hard and see if he can become a player.”
MLive’s Ansar Khan took note as well:
“I don’t write his career off by any means,” Yzerman said. “I thought he made significant steps. It’s been a challenge for him. He’s had some injuries playing in Detroit. I think he’s got upside. I think he still can become a valuable player in the NHL.
“I look at Eeli Tolvanen last year, a guy who was having a tough time in Nashville for whatever reason and gets claimed by Seattle and really took off. Does that happen for Filip if he goes somewhere? Maybe. It could happen here. I would like it to happen here. I still think there’s something there as a player. So, we’ll see where it goes.”
If Zadina isn’t claimed and isn’t traded, Yzerman said he will be in training camp competing for a roster spot.
“Personally, I like Filip. I think there’s something there as a hockey player,” Yzerman said. “There’s not much more I can do at this stage to help him. He’s got to go out and earn it.”
