Top 3 players the Detroit Red Wings could trade before Friday’s deadline

The Detroit Red Wings may look to trade Filip Zadina.

Filip Zadina has never lived up to his draft hype, but we, as fans, need to learn to let that go and hope the organization can get the best out of the player moving forward. Many of us thought that Zadina would quickly become a scoring top-six winger for the Detroit Red Wings following his stellar junior season with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In that season, Zadina recorded 44 goals and 82 points in 57 games leading him to become a top-six draft selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Level Draft.

The scoring skill has yet to ultimately translate to the professional level. The 23-year-old winger has spent time between Grand Rapids and Detroit since being drafted and has become a regular for the Red Wings over the past couple of seasons. Last year Zadina recorded 24 points, including ten goals in 74 games with Detroit. Yzerman saw enough to reward Zadina, who was a restricted free agent this past summer, with a three-year contract extension that averages $1.825 million.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger recently reported that Detroit is discussing the possibility of trading Filip Zadina.

The 6-foot winger has shown some sniping ability but has struggled to find the net on a consistent basis. Head coach Derek Lalonde has also been playing Zadina fourth-line minutes, averaging a career-low 12:57 per night. Earlier this season, Zadina suffered a broken leg after blocking a shot, limiting him to just 20 games. Over those 20 games, he’s recorded two goals and four points. In recent games, Zadina has looked far more responsible in the defensive zone, and he’s been noticeably better at backchecking.

With Detroit shipping Tyler Bertuzzi to Boston, a player like Zadina should see opportunities to work himself up Detroit’s lineup. If Zadina remains with Detroit past Friday’s deadline, is rewarded for his recent progress, and finds himself getting an opportunity to play on a line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond in favor of Dominik Kubalik, perhaps he will become a more consistent offensive contributor.