How many games will Zadina play 2018-2019 for DRW

[Pavels Dog]

I really hope the team will stop focusing on "wasting" contract years and look more to the actual development of the players. If a player can compete at an NHL level then it doesn't make any sense to me for him to be mired in the AHL just to preserve an ELC year.

That kind of mentality is "penny wise and pound foolish" to me.

Have they ever focused on that? If Blashill thinks Zadina helps the team win, I doubt he'll be okay with the kid putting up big numbers in AHL while the Wings lose games and his reputation as an NHL coach keeps sinking.

Now if Zadina looks like he isn't quite ready and only puts up ~0.5-0.8PPG in AHL, then it's possible they limit him to 9 NHL games instead of letting him play 10-15 games.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I really hope the team will stop focusing on "wasting" contract years and look more to the actual development of the players. If a player can compete at an NHL level then it doesn't make any sense to me for him to be mired in the AHL just to preserve an ELC year.

That kind of mentality is "penny wise and pound foolish" to me.

This is Prashanth Iyer focusing on wasting a year. This is literally nothing saying what Detroit will do, just what that guy thinks. It’s him using Capfriendly and thinking out loud.

The Wings have never done what you’re saying since the Larkin draft.

Larkin - played at Michigan... signed pro deal and was in Detroit to stay from the first year

Mantha - was likely going to be in Detroit year one and then he broke his leg.

Svechnikov wasnt NHL ready and truthfully still isn’t

Rasmussen got a thought but he was also in the CHL and determined not to be ready.

Zadina is the litmus test I guess.

So where have the Wings prioritized ELC control over a young player playing?

 

[ricky0034]

voted 31-42

slightly under half a season is about what I expect,I think he starts the year in the AHL and at some point gets called up and sticks around

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Have they ever focused on that? If Blashill thinks Zadina helps the team win, I doubt he'll be okay with the kid putting up big numbers in AHL while the Wings lose games and his reputation as an NHL coach keeps sinking.

Now if Zadina looks like he isn't quite ready and only puts up ~0.5-0.8PPG in AHL, then it's possible they limit him to 9 NHL games instead of letting him play 10-15 games.

I may be misremembering but I feel like that has been a recurring conversation over the years.

Either way I would hate for that to be considered a reasonable justification by management to keep him in the AHL. Let the kid sink or swim based on his own abilities.

 

[Reddwit]

Think it’ll depend less on contract slide and more on how marketable he is. He definitely gets a game in because “come see the next big thing play” is a decent marketing ploy in and of itself but I don’t think they’re going to let him statistically flounder or look bad entertainment-wise even if he’s playing good NHL hockey.

On the flip side, if he markets well as a draw, then his ass is going to be on the ice regardless of whether or not we’re winning games (although him marketing well almost certainly requires him putting on a show occasionally enough).

At the end of the day, any appreciable draw he brings in is going to be the difference, in my humble opinion, because the trade off between paying him a year early could easily be much less than the revenue they could bring in with some Zadina hype.

 

[Pavels Dog]

I may be misremembering but I feel like that has been a recurring conversation over the years.

Either way I would hate for that to be considered a reasonable justification by management to keep him in the AHL. Let the kid sink or swim based on his own abilities.

I think it's reasonable if a kid is a borderline NHLer. Those kind of considerations usually fly out of the window if a kid looks legit though.

 

[Frk It]

I think he will be on the team from the TDL to the end of the season. Only way he is on the team before that or at the start the season is if there are injuries. So I will say 10-30 games.

I think it's reasonable if a kid is a borderline NHLer. Those kind of considerations usually fly out of the window if a kid looks legit though.

Agreed. I do think he will ultimately play more than 9 games this year and it will slide, and Detroit will be alright with that.

 

[Henkka]

What amount of games would burn a UFA year?

 

[Winger98]

I may be misremembering but I feel like that has been a recurring conversation over the years.

Either way I would hate for that to be considered a reasonable justification by management to keep him in the AHL. Let the kid sink or swim based on his own abilities.

I think it came up around here when trying to justify guys like Tatar, Nyquist, Kindl, etc. staying down once in awhile, but I'm not sure how often someone like Khan or someone connected with the organization said it.

Agree about not liking it as a reason management is using, though. There's something wrong if the club is going to be more concerned with paying a guy than having a better team.

 

[Claypool]

There's something wrong if the club is going to be more concerned with paying a guy than having a better team.

Every team considers the option of burning years off a player's entry level deal. Even if Zadin is "effective" at the NHL level, you have to think long-term with contracts. The longer you can delay having to play a player, the better.

 

[Henkka]

This is Prashanth Iyer focusing on wasting a year. This is literally nothing saying what Detroit will do, just what that guy thinks. It’s him using Capfriendly and thinking out loud.

The Wings have never done what you’re saying since the Larkin draft.

So where have the Wings prioritized ELC control over a young player playing?

It's still those devastating Nyquist and Tatar memories. And how Pulkkinen was a lost super talent.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

1-9.

I do hope for more than that.

 

[Ezekial]

Ya plus prolonging the ELC just means the next contract will need to be bigger, when the cap savings actually matter and the team will be trying to compete.

Look at the Leafs with Nylander, he played 22 games in his last "slide" year and burned a year of ELC. If he didn't his contract would expire at the same time as Matthews and Marner and he would have an extra 60-70 games experience to drive up the value.

This is a very underrated point, "burning" or "wasting" a year of Zadina's ELC with 10-25 games could in fact end up affecting a deal for Zadina if he has an extra year at about age 21. But, in the end Zadina should be the level of talent that when it comes to his first RFA deal he will be locked in at a high end contract even at that age.
Could that extra year end up in about ~1M in additional AAV? It's entirely possible.

Personally, I don't look at the ELC when I'm deciding his NHL fate at basically any point - barring an extreme the last game of the season example.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I know there's contract implications depending on if he plays more than 9 games or not, but purely as a fan I hope he spends most of the season with the Wings. He's a bright spot on a team that there's not a lot to be excited about.

 

[Winger98]

Every team considers the option of burning years off a player's entry level deal. Even if Zadin is "effective" at the NHL level, you have to think long-term with contracts. The longer you can delay having to play a player, the better.

If he's effective, that means he's ready. You don't screw with his development by pushing him into a lesser league because you're worried about paying a good player for being good. You manage your cap better by not overpaying guys like Gator, Helm, and Nielsen.

 

[Claypool]

If he's effective, that means he's ready. You don't screw with his development by pushing him into a lesser league because you're worried about paying a good player for being good. You manage your cap better by not overpaying guys like Gator, Helm, and Nielsen.

If the Red Wings aren't ready to compete next season, like we all know they aren't, why burn a year off his entry level deal? For fun?

 

[Winger98]

If the Red Wings aren't ready to compete next season, like we all know they aren't, why burn a year off his entry level deal? For fun?

Because the concern is Zadina's development, not his cap hit in three years. If he's ready for the NHL, that's where he needs to be. By the same token, he might need time in GR, and that's fine, too. But his play needs to be what dictates where he goes.

 

[Claypool]

Because the concern is Zadina's development, not his cap hit in three years. If he's ready for the NHL, that's where he needs to be. By the same token, he might need time in GR, and that's fine, too. But his play needs to be what dictates where he goes.

Right, so unless he's one of the best wingers on the team next year he'll be in Grand Rapids. If he's on the team next year don't complain when the Red Wings try to compete for a playoff spot.

 

[PelagicJoe]

I said 10-30, but it will only be because one of Abdelkader or Helm will be injured.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Right, so unless he's one of the best wingers on the team next year he'll be in Grand Rapids. If he's on the team next year don't complain when the Red Wings try to compete for a playoff spot.

Why does he have to be "one of the best" wingers on the team? What is your definition for "one of the best"?

Putting Zadina on the Wings also doesn't mean competing for a playoff spot. Not sure why those would be necessarily related.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Because the concern is Zadina's development, not his cap hit in three years. If he's ready for the NHL, that's where he needs to be. By the same token, he might need time in GR, and that's fine, too. But his play needs to be what dictates where he goes.

Right. And how the WINGS have been approaching it is that way.

Larkin - ready, boom.
Mantha - ready, broken leg, not ready, boom.
Svechnikov - not ready
Rasmussen - not ready
Zadina - ?

All of the save a year on his ELC is if he doesn't prove he's ready for a shot with Detroit. And also how they've been managing it, Zadina would need to beat out one of the top 6 wingers to stick with the team. That's the role he has, so if he's going to be in Detroit, he's got to show that he's capable of that role. The Wings have always done that. They don't say "aw, you'll grow into it". If you make the team, you are expected to play like an NHLer and act like an NHLer.

 

[Winger98]

Right. And how the WINGS have been approaching it is that way.

Larkin - ready, boom.
Mantha - ready, broken leg, not ready, boom.
Svechnikov - not ready
Rasmussen - not ready
Zadina - ?

All of the save a year on his ELC is if he doesn't prove he's ready for a shot with Detroit. And also how they've been managing it, Zadina would need to beat out one of the top 6 wingers to stick with the team. That's the role he has, so if he's going to be in Detroit, he's got to show that he's capable of that role. The Wings have always done that. They don't say "aw, you'll grow into it". If you make the team, you are expected to play like an NHLer and act like an NHLer.

I think Rasmussen is going to be given a bit of a pass because the other option is back to juniors, that's just the vibe I've been getting from whenever management talks about him for the past half year or so, though. I'm not ready to say Detroit's shifted how they handle their forwards with just two examples, though. I'm looking at this year's team, and I don't really see how Zadina can make the team regardless of how well he plays or how ready he is. Until someone is moved or is LTIRed, it's hard to find an open spot in the top9, let alone the top6.

The stupid rule forcing Rasmussen to juniors if he's not in Detroit is just ridiculous.

 

[Konnan511]

I may be misremembering but I feel like that has been a recurring conversation over the years.

Either way I would hate for that to be considered a reasonable justification by management to keep him in the AHL. Let the kid sink or swim based on his own abilities.

I feel like that was terrible development for the Oilers for the past 10 years. Unless I'm taking something different from what you're saying?

 

[ArGarBarGar]

I feel like that was terrible development for the Oilers for the past 10 years. Unless I'm taking something different from what you're saying?

The Oilers have numerous problems (coaching, inability to draft other than in the first round, Yakupov, contracts), and I don't see how you can just pin their issues on development. Are you saying that players in their system failed because they played in the NHL too soon?

If he isn't good enough in preseason, then give him some time in the AHL. If he is good enough, then don't be afraid to let him try his hand at the NHL level.

 

[Frk It]

I feel like that was terrible development for the Oilers for the past 10 years. Unless I'm taking something different from what you're saying?

I think their issues had more to do with who they picked, as opposed to how they developed them.

Would RNH be materially different if they brought him along slower? Idk, the Islanders have been doing that with Dal Colle, and I don't think too highly of him. You can't make someone something they're not.

Draisaitl got thrown into the league and struggled and still ended up fine. Making good picks makes your development look smart. There's not a one size fit all method to developing players, but I think "bad development" is kind of a scapegoat for bigger issues sometimes.

If I draft Quinn Hughes or Adam Boqvist, of course I'm not putting them straight in the NHL. But if I draft a 200 lb winger who is supremely confident in himself like Zadina, I could go either way with it.