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Filip Zadina

Filip Zadina Activated, Sent On Conditioning Stint

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02/05/23: With Adam Erne clearing waivers today, the Red Wings have recalled Zadina from his conditioning stint. He’ll be eligible to play in the Red Wings’ next game, which is Tuesday versus the Edmonton Oilers.

02/02/23: The Detroit Red Wings are on break, meaning Filip Zadina is going to get a bit of extra time to prepare for his return. The team activated the young forward today and loaned him to the Grand Rapids Griffins on a conditioning stint.

The loan can last up to two weeks, meaning Zadina can potentially play in five games before returning to the Red Wings.

Last appearing in a game on November 5, Zadina has been out for close to three months after blocking a shot against the New York Islanders. That means he’s only played nine games so far this year and has no points to show for it.

It’s been a tough career so far for the sixth-overall pick, with just 25 goals and 61 points in 169 games. Flashes of potential have come and gone without much consistent play at the NHL level. Last season he set career highs with ten goals and 24 points in 74 games, but those totals pale in comparison to the huge expectations he had coming out of junior.

Perhaps this latest injury gave him some time to readjust some things in his game and he’ll come back stronger, especially with the confidence that the Red Wings put in him last summer. Zadina signed a three-year deal that carries a $1.825MM cap hit in August.

Adam Erne Clears Waivers

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02/05/23: Erne has cleared waivers, according to CapFriendly. He’ll now be able to head to AHL Grand Rapids to continue his season.

02/04/23: While the Red Wings are off until Tuesday, they have made a roster move today as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed winger Adam Erne on waivers.

The 27-year-old has played in 43 games with Detroit so far this season, picking up six goals and eight assists while logging just shy of 14 minutes a night.  Those numbers are actually better than a year ago on a per-game basis while he has a chance of setting a career high in points if he stays in the NHL and produces at a similar pace the rest of the way.  Erne also has recorded 122 hits; his 2.84 per game average is a career best.

With that in mind, it might be a bit surprising to see him on waivers.  However, it’s not the riskiest of moves for GM Steve Yzerman as Erne carries a $2.1MM cap hit while he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer.  While Erne would fit on quite a few teams in terms of roster needs, not many of them have enough cap room to try to add him.  Filip Zadina is currently on a conditioning loan with AHL Grand Rapids and it’s possible that he’d come back to take Erne’s place in the lineup.

Assuming he clears on Sunday, Erne would be the third veteran Red Wing to be buried in the minors in recent weeks.  Jakub Vrana cleared waivers a month ago today while Alex Nedeljkovic was unclaimed two weeks later.  Even with those players in the AHL where they still mostly count against Detroit’s salary cap, they project to finish the season with more than $6.5MM in cap space, per CapFriendly so it’s safe to say these moves aren’t cap-related.  The Red Wings have some good depth and as their team gets healthier, the roster crunch is starting to be felt.  Erne appears to be the next casualty of that.

Red Wings Notes: Zadina, Bertuzzi, Johansson

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Filip Zadina’s return to the ice has had some ups and downs as the winger has dealt with various setbacks that have delayed his return.  However, he told team reporter Jonathan Mills that at this point, all he’s waiting for is the sign-off from team doctors to return to the lineup with the hopes of getting in before next week’s All-Star break.  Zadina has missed a bit more than ten weeks due to a lower-body injury, one that was initially supposed to sideline him for six to eight weeks.  He has been limited to just nine games this season and is still looking for his first point which isn’t the type of bounce-back anyone was hoping for in the first year of his three-year bridge deal

More from Detroit:

  • Winger Tyler Bertuzzi is also nearing a return as MLive’s Ansar Khan reports (Twitter link) that the veteran is expected to return on Thursday against Montreal. The 27-year-old suffered a lower-body injury back last Thursday and has missed the last two games.  This season hasn’t gone anywhere near the way Bertuzzi had hoped as he has missed time with three separate injuries and has just a goal and four assists in 15 games.  That’s hardly the type of production he was hoping for heading into the final year of his contract with his first crack at unrestricted free agency to follow.
  • Prospect Anton Johansson has signed an upgraded contract, per an announcement from SHL Leksand. The 18-year-old defenseman was a fourth-round pick last summer (105th overall) and started the year at the junior level but has played in 13 games with Leksand at the top level.  That playing time necessitated an adjusted contract but it still only runs through this season.  However, it’s likely that Johansson will remain in the SHL for the foreseeable future which will be a good test development-wise.

Tyler Bertuzzi To Return For Detroit Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings are on a three-game losing skid and now find themselves sliding further and further down the Atlantic Division standings. Tied with the Ottawa Senators, they’re just four points ahead of the bottom-dwelling Montreal Canadiens. Perhaps the return of a key forward will spark a turnaround.

Tyler Bertuzzi will make his return to the lineup tomorrow night according to head coach Derek Lalonde, who spoke with reporters including Ansar Khan of MLive. The 27-year-old hasn’t played since November, undergoing surgery on December 2 that ruled him out for six weeks. Now ready to return, he’ll try to build on the outstanding season he had in 2021-22.

Bertuzzi scored 30 goals for the first time last year, while nearly recording a point-per-game for the rebuilding Red Wings. It set him up for a huge platform year this season with unrestricted free agency right around the corner, something that was disrupted by that early injury.

Now, with just a few months left before he potentially hits the open market, he’ll have to make up for the lost time. A quick turnaround for the Red Wings would certainly be welcomed before the club falls completely out of the playoff race.

In the case of Filip Zadina, who was on a similar timeline, the team will have to wait a bit longer. Khan reports that the young forward had a slight setback and is hoping to return next week.

East Notes: Red Wings, Raanta, Blue Jackets

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Robby Fabbri is nearing a return for the Red Wings and there’s more help on the horizon as well as head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters, including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link) that wingers Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Zadina are on the same timeframe for a return and should be back in the next eight to ten days.  Bertuzzi has missed the last month after undergoing wrist surgery and while he’s off to a slow start this season, he had a career-high 62 points in 2021-22.  Meanwhile, Zadina has missed more than seven weeks with a lower-body injury.  With those two and Fabbri close to coming back, Detroit’s forward group is about to get a lot deeper in the very near future as they look to hang around the Wild Card battle.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • While Carolina’s original intention might have been to send Pyotr Kochetkov back to the minors when Frederik Andersen returns from his injury, his play has made that much more difficult. Accordingly, Adam Proteau of The Hockey News opines that Antti Raanta might be the odd one out between the pipes.  He has a 2.53 GAA with a .900 SV% in 14 starts this season, a decent return on a $2.25MM AAV.  While the Hurricanes likely wouldn’t be able to command a sizable return for Raanta’s services, he could be a useful pickup for a team looking for a short-term option between the pipes.
  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Daniil Tarasov suffered an upper-body injury in practice on Friday. The 23-year-old was likely to be sent to the minors soon with Elvis Merzlikins clearing COVID protocol earlier this week but this will now delay that for at least a few days as Tarasov is listed as day-to-day.  He has played in a dozen games with Columbus this season, recording a 3.40 GAA with a .907 SV%.
  • Still with the Blue Jackets, defenseman Nick Blankenburg has resumed skating as he works his way back from a broken ankle, relays Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old has been out for the last seven weeks due to the injury and there remains no timetable for his return.  Blankenburg has three points in seven games so far this season.

Detroit Red Wings Issue Injury Updates

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The Detroit Red Wings have issued an official update on Filip Zadina’s timeline, after suffering a lower-body injury a few days ago. The young forward will miss six to eight weeks, pausing what had already been a disappointing start to the season. Head coach Derek Lalonde also announced that Tyler Bertuzzi and Jake Walman will be out another seven to ten days, while Oskar Sundqvist is listed as day-to-day but should play on Thursday.

Zadina, 22, had gone completely scoreless through nine games before suffering the injury, recording just 12 shots on goal. That has been a common theme in his young career, which has resulted in just 25 goals and 61 points through 169 games. Selected sixth overall in 2018 there was so much more expected of the Czech forward, especially when he put up 16 goals as a teenage rookie in the AHL. But scoring has been inconsistent for him in the NHL and now he’ll miss the better part of two months when the team is finally competitive.

If there is a silver lining for Zadina, it’s that he already signed a three-year, $5.475MM contract this summer that locked him in through 2024-25. The Red Wings have enough cap space this year that it doesn’t really matter if he underperforms that $1.825MM cap hit but that won’t always be the case. With Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin and others scheduled for unrestricted free agency and in need of big extensions, the money in Detroit will be counted a little more closely moving forward.

Hopefully, this time off can give him a bit of a reset and he’ll come back in a better place, but there will be other players stepping up in his absence. It’s not clear what kind of role will be left for him on his return, especially given how little he was playing before the injury happened.

Filip Zadina Will Be Out Long Term

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While the exact injury isn’t yet known, things don’t sound good for Red Wings winger Filip Zadina.  Speaking with reporters including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) postgame following their overtime victory over the Rangers today, head coach Derek Lalonde indicated the youngster has something broken and that he’ll be out a matter of months, not weeks.  The injury occurred back on Saturday after he blocked a shot from Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock.

That’s hardly good news for the 22-year-old who has been trying to establish his role under their new coaching staff.  Zadina has struggled out of the gate this season and has been held off the scoresheet through his first nine games while averaging just under 14 minutes a night.  He’s in the first season of a three-year, $5.475MM bridge contract.

Detroit has been hit hard when it comes to their wingers this season.  Zadina joins Tyler Bertuzzi and Robby Fabbri as wingers that are currently injured while Jakub Vrana is out indefinitely while he’s in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  The Red Wings currently have an open roster spot after placing Zadina on injured reserve late yesterday.  Austin Czarnik and Matt Luff have been recent recalls and someone else from AHL Grand Rapids will be getting the call in the near future.

Injury Notes: Zadina, Byram, Hornqvist, Chytil, Dahlin

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After a major offseason overhaul rivaled only by the Ottawa Senators, expectations have been big for the Detroit Red Wings this season, however the team has gotten itself off to an up-and-down start. Sitting at 5-3-2 coming into today, the team would be faced with one of its tougher tasks of the young season this afternoon: a showdown with the New York Islanders, who were on a five-game winning streak. Detroit answered the call, shutting out the Islanders 3-0. That win appears to have come at a price, however. Forward Filip Zadina went down late in the third period after appearing to block a Ryan Pulock shot.

After the game, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, provided an update to the media, including Michigan Live’s Ansar Kahn. According to Lalonde, Zadina’s injury “doesn’t look good” and Detroit may not see the winger for a while, adding that the team would know more tomorrow. Soon to be 23-years-old, Zadina has yet to become the player Detroit hoped he would be when he was drafted sixth-overall in 2018, and has zero points through his first nine games this year, including today. But, with Detroit missing more than its fair share of forwards, including Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist, and Robby Fabbri, losing Zadina for any period of time will surely be felt.

  • For those who watched today’s NHL Global Series contest in Tampere, Finland between the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, noticeably absent from Colorado’s blueline was Bowen Byram. The defenseman was replaced in the lineup by Jacob MacDonald, who was playing in just his fourth game of the season. Thus far, there is no word on the severity of Byram’s injury, however The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that it’s a lower-body injury. While no injury is good news, for Byram, who has dealt with a number of concussion-related issues in his past, having the injury apparently be unrelated to that is somewhat of a relief. The former fourth-overall pick is off to a strong start to the season, scoring two goals to go with three assists in 10 games to date.
  • Florida Panthers winger Patric Hornqvist, who suffered an upper-body injury early in Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, is considered day-to-day, head coach Paul Maurice told the media, including Bally Sports’ Katie Engleson. The veteran has just one goal through 11 games to start the season, but with Florida missing several key pieces from last year’s team, they will need a quick recovery from Hornqvist and renewed production to help supplement their offense going forward.
  • New York Rangers center Filip Chytil expects to play in the team’s game tomorrow afternoon against the Red Wings. While Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant did not confirm that Chytil would be in the lineup, the forward did tell USA Today Sports’ Vince Mercogliano that he feels 100%. Still, Gallant is hopeful he can play Sunday. Chytil, who hasn’t played since October 23rd, was believed to be dealing with a concussion, said Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 23-year-old had three points in six games prior to the injury.
  • Per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato confirmed that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will miss tonight’s game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning with an upper-body injury. Granato declined to go into specifics on the injury but, Harrington says, it likely occurred during Friday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, when Dahlin was involved in a scuffle with Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Thankfully for Buffalo, Dahlin is listed as day-to-day, but his injury is yet another in a long line of defensemen going down in the Buffalo organization this season, whether that be at the NHL or AHL level. Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed the last four games with injury, draws back in tonight in place of Dahlin.

Remaining Restricted Free Agents

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August 28: The list below has been updated to reflect the remaining restricted free agents as of August 28, 2022.

August 12: We’re now coming up on one month since the start of free agency, and two months until the start of the 2022-23 regular season. Teams have mostly completed their offseason business, though a handful still have big issues to solve at some point in the next few weeks.

The arbitration schedule has finished and many of the front offices are slowing down for the rest of the summer in preparation for a long upcoming campaign. That is, except for the teams that still have restricted free agents to sign.

According to CapFriendly, 29 players who received qualifying offers are still unsigned, though that list includes a few New York Islanders minor leaguers who very well could have already agreed to contracts. The Islanders do also have Noah Dobson, who is among the most important names on the list after his breakout 51-point campaign.

Dobson, 22, looks as though he will be a building block for the team through the next decade, and seems positioned for a long-term contract at some point in the near future.

Beyond New York, many eyes are on the Dallas Stars, where Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger remain unsigned. Other than Miro Heiskanen, there may not be any more important players on the Stars roster than the star forward and emerging goaltender. Both would command hefty cap hits on long-term deals, and given the $10MM in cap space remaining for Dallas, may end up with bridge contracts when things are all said and done.

There are other full-time NHLers among the group too. Alexander Romanov, Kirby Dach, Filip Zadina, Ryan McLeod, and Alex Formenton all played at least 70 games this season for their respective clubs, and are without deals to this point. The full list is below:

Arizona Coyotes

Barrett Hayton

Calgary Flames

Adam Ruzicka

Buffalo Sabres

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Dallas Stars

Jake Oettinger
Jason Robertson

Edmonton Oilers

Ryan McLeod

Los Angeles Kings

Michael Anderson
Sean Durzi

Montreal Canadiens

Kirby Dach
Cayden Primeau

New York Islanders

Parker Wotherspoon

Ottawa Senators

Erik Brannstrom
Alex Formenton

Philadelphia Flyers

Hayden Hodgson

San Jose Sharks

Jonah Gadjovich

Seattle Kraken

Cale Fleury

Toronto Maple Leafs

Rasmus Sandin

Vegas Golden Knights

Nicolas Hague

Of note, most of these players are eligible to sign an offer sheet, if they choose to. Only Romanov and Cates are what are called 10.2(c) players, which are not eligible to negotiate with any team other than their own.

There are also several players like Josef Korenar, who are technically still restricted free agents relative to the NHL but have signed overseas. These rights will be held by their team after issuing qualifying offers but there is no need to list them with the above group.

Any of these restricted free agents must sign a contract before December 1 to be eligible to play in the NHL this season. Though training camp provides a soft deadline, that is the actual threshold that negotiations need to be completed by, or else a player could miss an entire year.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Filip Zadina

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The Red Wings have taken care of their last remaining restricted free agent, signing winger Filip Zadina to a three-year contract. Per the team announcement, the contract carries a $1.825MM cap hit. Zadina will be a restricted free agent once again when the deal expires.

The narrative around Zadina’s career thus far has largely been centered around how he’s failed to live up to the lofty expectations that were placed on him as a prospect. Drafted sixth overall at the 2018 draft, many outlets had Zadina ranked even higher, with quite a few considering him the best prospect outside of the clearly-defined top two players, Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov.

Zadina was coming off of a monster draft year in the QMJHL, a season where he torched junior defenses to the tune of 44 goals and 82 points in 57 games. After he was drafted, the Red Wings made the somewhat unconventional choice to send him to their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids rather than send him for another year of junior hockey. At the AHL level, Zadina impressed, scoring 16 goals and 35 points in 59 games.

Zadina scored well at the AHL level the next season, with 16 points in 21 games, but at the NHL level offensive success has eluded him. The talent is there with Zadina, he has a good shot, and he can generate some scoring chances from the wing. But the consistency NHL coaches expect on a night-to-night basis has been missing. While Zadina’s defensive issues would not be cause for issue at lower levels, at the NHL level his inability to round out his two-way game has cost him opportunities to play higher in the lineup and with more talented linemates.

If Zadina can learn to rely less on a perimeter-style offensive game and improve his two-way hockey, he can quickly make this three-year contract extension look very wise on the part of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. But the quality of play he’s put forth so far in the NHL has been so underwhelming that there’s a legitimate chance that he does not finish this contract in Detroit.

The Red Wings have made significant additions this offseason with the idea of moving back into the hunt for a playoff spot. With Jakub Vrana finally healthy, David Perron and Dominik Kubalik now in the fold, and a new coach to prove himself to, it’s possible that Zadina will need to play better than he ever has before in order to get prime offensive opportunities in this new-look Red Wings squad. If nothing else, his leash will likely be shorter than it has ever been before in his NHL career.

This contract gives Zadina some runway to determine who he wants to be in the NHL. Does he want to take full advantage of his tools and become an impact scorer, or does he want to remain mired in the issues that have plagued him so far as an NHLer? That’s a question only Zadina can decide, and with this contract, he’ll now have the opportunity to answer it.

Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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