Inside the Article:
On Monday, news broke that Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman had decided to release Filip Zadina. Later in the day, Yzerman held a press conference, and he explained why he waived the former No. 6 overall pick.
Steve Yzerman explains why he waived Zadina
While speaking to reporters, Yzerman revealed that Zadina’s agent requested a trade for his client.
“Unfortunately for Filip last year, he missed a lot of time due to injury,” he said. “I thought in the 30-ish games he played, I saw growth in his game. Prior to the Draft, through his agent, he had asked if he could potentially go somewhere else and look for a better opportunity and fresh start. So, I’ve tried to do that and tried to find a place for him to play, someone interested in Filip who would maybe give him that opportunity. I’ve not been able to do that, so we put him on waivers today to try and give him an opportunity to go to an organization to play more, we’ll see what happens.”
“I’m not writing off his career by any means, I think that he made significant steps. It’s been a challenge and he’s had some injuries playing in Detroit, but I think he has upside and can still be a valuable player in the NHL. He was held back last year due to injury; it happens.”
Bottom Line: A Fresh Start Could Spark Zadina
In a perfect world, Filip Zadina would be heading into the 2023-24 season as one of the Red Wings’ best players. Unfortunately, things did not pan out as planned, and now he will have an opportunity for a fresh start. We certainly wish Filip the best of luck moving forward.
