After some reports began to circulate that Filip Zadina was looking at a professional tryout contract (PTO) offer from the Buffalo Sabres, his agent put the rumours to rest on Aug. 27, stating that he was nearing a full contract offer from another team. The potential PTO, it seems, was a fallback option, one that isn’t necessary anymore. According to insider Kevin Weekes, as many as three clubs were competing for his services. Could the Ottawa Senators be one of them?
The Senators aren’t a bad fit for the 24-year-old sniper. General manager (GM) Steve Staios has prioritized adding veterans to his lineup, and with 262 games under his belt since breaking into the NHL in 2018-19, he could easily slide into the bottom six in place of a talented rookie who may need some more development time. With the right deal, Ottawa could provide him the perfect opportunity to break out.
The Senators’ Current Bottom-Six
The Senators bottom six have long been criticized as a major weakness and last season was no different, with nine players combining for just 46 goals and 96 points. It’s been one of the areas Staios has most focused on this offseason, parting with six of those nine players, including Parker Kelly and Mark Kastelic, who looked like they had carved out a nice niche in Ottawa.
Just looking at the exits from 2023-24, the Senators are down 29 goals heading into 2024-25. To address that, they added Michael Amadio, Adam Gaudette, Noah Gregor, and Nick Cousins, who scored a combined 27 goals last season. Considering Gaudette played only two games, that pretty much makes up the deficit, bringing the team back to where they were. But where they were was far from good enough; the Washington Capitals had 136 points from their bottom six last season, while the Tampa Bay Lightning had 113 points, and both of those clubs barely qualified for the playoffs. Without any further changes, that doesn’t give a lot of hope for the Senators’ 2024-25 playoff chances.
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Even with the addition of Shane Pinto, who is expected to start the season centering the third line while Josh Norris takes over the second line, the needle doesn’t move that much, as Pinto only had nine goals last season (albeit over half the season). But he may not stay there long, especially if Norris misses a good chunk of the season again with injury. That leaves Ottawa with a significant goal gap they’ll need to close to be competitive in the Eastern Conference.
Zadina Brings Speed and Goals, but Also Risk
In the two seasons where he’s played more than 70 games, he’s hit double-digit goals; last season, he had 13 goals with the San Jose Sharks, and in 2021-22, he had 10 with the Detroit Red Wings. On both teams, he averaged between 13-14 minutes a night, which is just shy of Ridly Greig’s 14:44 average ice time last season while playing on the third line. But if we look at players who averaged 13-14 minutes per night, only 11 of the 51 players who fall in that range outscored Zadina. It’s also worth noting that, among that list, not one player played for Ottawa.
Zadina also brings speed to a team that already has a lot of quick players on it’s roster. He’s a strong skater and, when he was at his best, looked like one of the best on the Sharks last season. That meshes well with Gregor, who has also been described as one of the fastest players in the NHL; last season, he ranked in the 90th percentile in speed bursts greater than 20 miles per hour and was in the top 16% for top speed. Zadina didn’t quite rank that high — his speed bursts put him in the 65th percentile — but he was nonetheless one of the fastest players in San Jose.
But, like many players with the Sharks last season, he struggled to provide a consistent effort all season long. The Hockey Writers’ Alex Hutton gave his season a C grade, writing, “Although he had a number of games where he made a major impact, he had just as many where he was completely invisible. He struggled to be assertive on many occasions, especially during the first half of the season, resulting in several games in which it was easy to forget he was even in the lineup.” Of course, many players in San Jose suffered from inconsistency; recently, Alex Barabanov expressed frustration about the futility of playing with the Sharks, leading him to return home to Russia for 2024-25.
However, it wasn’t just the Sharks’ fault, as Zadina became one of the worst defensive players in San Jose. Not only did he have the second-worst plus/minus rating on the team at a minus-44, he had one of the worst expected goals against per 60 (GA/60) in the NHL and his even-strength goals above replacement sat at a measly negative-6.7, meaning he was on the ice for nearly seven goals for every goal he scored. It’s also concerning that more than 17% of his 23 points came from the power play, which is not something he’ll get in Ottawa.
Zadina Fits Ottawa’s New Culture
Throughout their rebuild, the Senators struggled to figure out who they were. It came down to two players – Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk. Were they going to be a fast, intelligent, and efficient team, or would they lean more towards the agitating, in-your-face style that drove opponents crazy? For years, then-GM Pierre Dorion flip-flipped between the two, adding fast, skilled players alongside tough grinders. It created a split team that couldn’t get out of its own way and win.
That’s no longer the case in 2024-25. Staios has fully committed to building around Tkachuk with the additions of Cousins, Perron, and Gaudette and the hiring of new head coach Travis Green. With that kind of team comes a high level of confidence. Players can’t be afraid of offending anyone, because that’s what they are there to do. For an example, just watch Greig’s empty-net slap shot that made him an instant fan-favourite.
Zadina is not the most physical player, nor does he thrive defensively, but even before he played an NHL game, he was overflowing with confidence. After the Senators and Montreal Canadians passed on him at the 2018 Draft, allowing the Red Wings to select him sixth overall, he promised to fill their nets with pucks. Of course, he hasn’t done that, but he’s also been stuck on multiple underperforming teams. With Ottawa, he’d finally get a chance to play with a potential contender, which could help push them over the hump and return to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
