Detroit Red Wings priming Filip Zadina for a net-front role?

The Detroit Red Wings drafted Filip Zadina to be a scorer for this team and be someone they could rely on as a sharpshooting winger. For those who have been following the team, this is simply not the case for what Zadina has shown in his time with the team.

It seems that the Detroit Red Wings are looking to shake some things up and see what Zadina can do, hoping it sparks something to make him more of the player that the team was expecting to get when he was drafted.

In a recent The Detroit News article, Ted Kulfan professed about the idea that the Red Wings are hoping that Zadina can use time on the first line to grow his net-front abilities. The hope is that he can get into this part of the ice and create offense more often.

While there is an argument to be made that switching things up could benefit him, I just do not see Zadina in a net-front role. Though, I do understand the point that Kulfan is making about him learning the role with the hope it will spark something.

Detroit Red Wings switching things up with Filip Zadina is intriguing.

Zadina needs to get out of this rut, and it’s an intriguing way to try and force this to happen. Another “news” story to follow with Zadina lately has been that he was promoted to the team’s first line.

Zadina’s five goals and nine assists for 14 total points over 45 games are nearly the same as his six goals and 13 assists for 19 total points over his 49 games played in 2020-21. The boost in numbers heading into 2021-22 has just not quite been there as the team was hoping.

Given Kulfan’s suggestions, it seems like the Red Wings are hoping he can increase his game to be more like Robby Fabbri, as was mentioned in the article. I hate to be down on Zadina and give up on him. But I do not see this being the solution.

Zadina’s scoring troubles will not be solved by a dimension of his game that has never really been tapped into at all (opinion). I’ve been wrong plenty of times, and as a fan of the Red Wings, I hope that this is the remedy and winds up being what helps him break out.

Getting his shooting in order and working on his offense is what I think will be the deciding factor in his performance. When forward Jakub Vrána returns, playing the two together also seems like it could be beneficial for Zadina and allow him to get back onto the scoresheet more often.

When it comes to Zadina really working on this net-front presence, the next couple of games will be a crucial determinant for how this will work out.