Needing to create hat-trick space, the Detroit Red Wings put winger Philip Zadina on assignment the other day. There were no claims due to his recently loaded two-year, $1.825 million contract, so they will now place Zadina on unconditional waivers to terminate the contract. You will be Zadina Giving away $4.56 million to try to restart his career. The Rangers have a bit of a loophole in their RW, and Filip Zadina would represent a low-risk, high-reward flyer should they go this route.
Signing Zadina is probably cheap, maybe a little more than the $825,000 maximum salary they offered during free agency, but it’s probably less than a million dollars and change that could be buried in the AHL without penalty. The former sixth overall pick is certainly highly skilled, but he hasn’t quite pulled it together at the NHL level just yet.
The Rangers don’t really have a good track record of developing prospects, but they do have a surprisingly good track record for reclamation projects. Matt Pwimble has had a good short spell with the Rangers. Jimmy Vesey had a great year last year and invested it in a two-year deal with the Rangers. Guys like Benoit Pouliot also qualify here.
If Rangers sign Felipe Zadina, the best case scenario would be a Visey or Beaulieu situation. Worst case he doesn’t work out, gets waived and sent to the AHL. The only thing standing in the way of Chris Drury is the number of contracts. Rangers will likely be at 49 once Alexis Lafrenière and Candre Miller sign, so it will be Zadina’s 50th and final contract. They will have limited flexibility, but that shouldn’t stop them.
It is unlikely that Rangers will sign Philippe Zadina, especially given La Frenière’s expectations and the signing of Blake Wheeler. But what will they lose?