Ex-Red Wing Filip Zadina already dealing with a setback

Earlier this offseason, forward Filip Zadina agreed to join the San Jose Sharks, signing a one-year pact worth a reported $1.1 million. It's a major gamble for Zadina, who came into the NHL with high expectations after being selected with the 6th overall pick in 2018 by the Red Wings but never lived up to the potential he was thought to have possessed. 

And almost immediately into his tenure with the Sharks, he's been dealt a setback in the form of an injury suffered as a result of a dirty hit from behind from Anaheim Ducks forward Alex Killorn. That set off a melee on the ice, ultimately resulting in Killorn getting called for boarding and Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas getting hit with a 10-minute misconduct for getting involved.

The good news is that Zadina isn't seriously hurt, and is a participant in practice today.

“It was just such a blatantly late hit and obviously dirty,” said Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald. “I honestly don’t even know what the penalties ended up being but it’s just not the right move at that time.”

Zadina made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season, appearing in nine games so that he wouldn't use up a year of his rookie deal. The following year of 2019-20 was a historically poor campaign for Detroit, as they were mathematically eliminated from the postseason in February, far before any other team. 

During that year, Zadina scored eight goals in 28 games, which comes out to a pace of nearly 23 goals over a full 82 game year. 

How will Zadina perform in his first year with the Sharks this fall?

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