Contract Termination: [DET] Red Wings terminate contract of F Filip Zadina

[WaW]

I don't think the team is "fake good" or "good too early". I don't think they're good. I think they're mediocre, which is the worst place to be in the NHL. And it seems like Yzerman's goal the last two offseasons was to raise their floor from "bad" to "mediocre" and that strikes me as a poor philosophy.

It's always safe to assume there's alot of pressure from ownership to put a better product on the ice and to get back into the playoff revenue after so long.

Chris Illitch is rich but he doesn't have the same passion for sports that his dad did, and seems to be alot more business like.

As much as hard-core fans (i.e. people like us who care so much that we seek random strangers out on message boards to talk about the game with) know that tanking until you get a lottery talent to build around is the best formula, that almost never jives with the casual fans and general public. And unfortunately money talks, and that group is responsible for spending a hell of alot more money on hockey games because of the sheer size of that group than the die hards are.

 

[ZDH]

Your reasoning here is basically, "every prospect will hit their maximum ceiling".

That is not a good bet.

If only half of those players do its still a massive turnaround. Plus Seider already has hit. We got a #1 in the mold of a Pronger.

That in itself is a big turnaround compared to where we were...

 

[Ezekial]

I don't think the team is "fake good" or "good too early". I don't think they're good. I think they're mediocre, which is the worst place to be in the NHL. And it seems like Yzerman's goal the last two offseasons was to raise their floor from "bad" to "mediocre" and that strikes me as a poor philosophy.

It's easy to say "just be the worst team in the league for 10 years until you win the lottery" but it's a lot harder to do without putting your team in a shambles state of mind all the time. Watched it with Edmonton.
We were historically bad and picked 4th.

 

[Sparksrus3]

Sounds like a player that lived off his skill until he made it to the NHL and doesn't actually want to put in the effort to get better. Some people just don't like training and working out. They can't all be 3x Stanley Cup Champion Phil Kessel. BTW, can we ever just call him by his name again? I don't think so.

kessel just finished 5th in the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest like 15 minutes ago .. Phil “ Phillerup” Kessel .. 28 hot dogs.

 

[AslanRH]

Clearing waivers didn't change anything for Zadina.

Thanks, for clearing up my error
I remembered something about that after I posted and had to go look up the date minors waivers started.
was too lazy to edit though.

 

[Reality Check]

I don’t get the Yzerman hate. He walked into the Wings with little in the prospect Cupboard and less in the NHL. Now is first year of draft picks are just turning 22 and people are baffled that he hasnt won a Cup yet?

People can't wait to tear down those who have had a lot of success. This goes for all sports and beyond.

 

[bossram]

It's always safe to assume there's alot of pressure from ownership to put a better product on the ice and to get back into the playoff revenue after so long.

Chris Illitch is rich but he doesn't have the same passion for sports that his dad did, and seems to be alot more business like.

As much as hard-core fans (i.e. people like us who care so much that we seek random strangers out on message boards to talk about the game with) know that tanking until you get a lottery talent to build around is the best formula, that almost never jives with the casual fans and general public. And unfortunately money talks, and that group is responsible for spending a hell of alot more money on hockey games because of the sheer size of that group than the die hards are.

I pretty much agree with you. But ownership direction still isn't an excuse for poor execution. This was used as an excuse for Jim Benning for years by some Canucks fans.

A team can try to improve while at the same not locking themselves into aggressively mid players on bad contracts.

It's easy to say "just be the worst team in the league for 10 years until you win the lottery" but it's a lot harder to do without putting your team in a shambles state of mind all the time. Watched it with Edmonton.
We were historically bad and picked 4th.

See my thoughts above.

Although with Edmonton, the problem there was squarely terrible management. They went through multiple phases of tanking, trying to get better, failing, and then tanking again. Similar to Buffalo for the past decade.

 

[Reality Czech]

what about his emotional state?

he probably saw that he was put on waivers yesterday and thought oh someone else will surely take me and i can be free and then today he sees this

must be hard on him

Filip Sad-ina

 

[HisIceness]

He looked before he leapt with his "fill their net with pucks" comment but I thought he'd develop into at the very least an All-Star.

The fact that no one claimed him says he's at best going to be a journeyman. Maybe there's some team out there he can find a niche on.

 

[Stony Curtis]

So now he knows his worth. No GM was willing to take him. Except his own GM, who was harsh but honest with him when he said the best possible outcome was that he clears, comes to camp ready, and works his way up the lineup. That's as close to an olive branch as a guy like Yzerman will ever offer. I hope Zadina recognizes that for what it is and runs with it.

 

[Slats432]

Quinn Hughes was drafted next.

 

[Qward]

Quinn Hughes was drafted next.

View attachment 726187

Ottawa drafted Brian Lee over Anze Kopitar. It happens.

 

[Slats432]

Ottawa drafted Brian Lee over Anze Kopitar. It happens.

And if thread was about Brian Lee I would have posted it then. But this is the Zadina thread.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Ottawa drafted Brian Lee over Anze Kopitar. It happens.

San Jose drafted Devin Setoguchi over Brian Lee over Anze Kopitar. I'm going to go cry now.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Man, there's a lot of people making this comment and all you had to do was Google or read like 15 replies in to see that Zadina wasn't an Yzerman pick.

But is he not the GM that gave him that absurd contract?

 

[datsyukfan]

But is he not the GM that gave him that absurd contract?

It was 3 years at 1.8 how is that absurd? I get he passed through waivers but I like yzerman still believe there’s a player in Zadina. Say what you want about his lack of production the guy has become a very good 2 way player. I personally would like to see him on the wings bottom 6 and playing PK

 

[Canadian Canuck]

No.

There are teams well over the cap already and others who aren't but have players to sign.

You might end up with a handful, but not nearly close to everybody.

A couple of years and a contract ago, sure. Def not now. Guy is making 1.8 and then 2.7 and turns 24 at the start of this season.

I thought he was making less than 1.5, that changes things and makes sense why a claim wasn’t out in.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

It was 3 years at 1.8 how is that absurd? I get he passed through waivers but I like yzerman still believe there’s a player in Zadina. Say what you want about his lack of production the guy has become a very good 2 way player. I personally would like to see him on the wings bottom 6 and playing PK

His cap hit might be 1.8, but that last year is either crazy or shows that Yzerman badly misevaluated him.

 

[PettersonHughes]

As an outsider fan, my question is, is there a particular element of his game that leads to him not finding success (work ethic, hockey IQ, injury history, not enough opportunities... other?), was Detroit just not a fit, or is there another reason for his early lack of success?

 

[norrisnick]

As an outsider fan, my question is, is there a particular element of his game that leads to him not finding success (work ethic, hockey IQ, injury history, not enough opportunities... other?), was Detroit just not a fit, or is there another reason for his early lack of success?

I would say it's about 95% confidence largely driven by being exceedingly unlucky. He's a very hard worker. He's smart, good on defensive assignments, great in transitions, he's had chances. But he was extremely snakebitten that then made him gunshy. The proverbial "squeezing the stick too tight" is Zadina in a nutshell. He'd pass when he should shoot or flub a stickhandle right when he should be pulling the trigger.

It's bizarre. If you watch games and don't meticulously keep track of scoring plays you get at the end of a two week stretch and you'd assume he'd have a modest few goals/assists maybe .5 PPG. You check the stats and he might have 1 assist. His first 9 games before his leg got blown up last season he wasn't on the ice for a single Red Wings goal for and only 2 against.

 

[93LEAFS]

It's always safe to assume there's alot of pressure from ownership to put a better product on the ice and to get back into the playoff revenue after so long.

Chris Illitch is rich but he doesn't have the same passion for sports that his dad did, and seems to be alot more business like.

As much as hard-core fans (i.e. people like us who care so much that we seek random strangers out on message boards to talk about the game with) know that tanking until you get a lottery talent to build around is the best formula, that almost never jives with the casual fans and general public. And unfortunately money talks, and that group is responsible for spending a hell of alot more money on hockey games because of the sheer size of that group than the die hards are.

Very few teams can afford the financial hit of that approach. They look at the 2013/14 Sabres until now and shutter in fear (it's looking up for the Sabres but there were some very rough times attendence wise).

The teams that can really go public with a plan like that and not really worry about the bottom line are clubs like the Leafs, NYR, and currently the Blackhawks (and they've won 3 cups in the past 15 years to buy them some good will). Even diehard markets like MTL see attendance dips in a tanking situation.

I'm not sure how many markets can operate with their season tickets essentially being viewed as prestige items like having a high-golf club membership to the extent no one gives them up, and when you don't want to go you can sell them to break even or profit on the secondary market.

 

[datsyukfan]

As an outsider fan, my question is, is there a particular element of his game that leads to him not finding success (work ethic, hockey IQ, injury history, not enough opportunities... other?), was Detroit just not a fit, or is there another reason for his early lack of success?

To me this last year was injuries. When he played this year I liked his game. As for production for me it’s been some bad luck, but also he has struggled to get his shot off as it a lot of times gets blocked by defenders. Tbh when I watch him everything looks pretty good until it comes to actually scoring.

 

[HuGort]

Wings signed a lot of players this summer. Imagine they need roster spot

 

[BruinLVGA]

Hopefully he fills the nets of all 31 other teams that passed on him for free.

 

[Snowwy]

I don’t get the Yzerman hate. He walked into the Wings with little in the prospect Cupboard and less in the NHL. Now is first year of draft picks are just turning 22 and people are baffled that he hasnt won a Cup yet?

Says it all when you set the goal posts at the cup, doesn't it.