Former first round pick Filip Zadina placed on waivers.
A former first round pick is available for any team to claim, but will anyone take a chance on him?
The career of once highly touted prospect Filip Zadina may have just hit an all-time low.
On Monday, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Detroit Red Wings had placed Zadina on waivers. The move effectively gives every team in the National Hockey League a chance to submit a claim for the player, a risk it would seem the Red Wings are not prepared to take.
That the Red Wings would risk giving up so readily on the former first round pick (6th overall at the 2018 Draft) speaks volumes about his inability to translate the skills that once made him a hot commodity to the NHL level.
Last season Zadina appeared in just 30 games for the Red Wings, scording 3 goals and adding 4 assists for a total of 7 points. He won't come cheap either with a cap hit of $1.875 million for both this upcoming season and the subsequent 2024-25 season, on a contract that is back loaded with real money including a payout of $2.73 million in the final year of the deal.
Once projected to be among the top picks in the draft, Zadina vowed that he would make the teams that passed on him regret their decision upon being selected at #6 by the Red Wings.
“I was telling my agent, if they will pass on me, I’m going to fill their nets with pucks,” said Zadina. “I want to prove to Detroit that they make a pretty good decision.”
It would seem he has so far failed to deliver on that promise.
