The San Jose Sharks have signed newly-minted UFA winger Filip Zadina to a one-year contract worth $1.1M.

The Sharks get: an intriguing, high-upside sniper who goes through bouts of injury and inconsistency. The 23-year-old was drafted sixth overall in 2018 and five years later, he mutually agreed with the Red Wings to walk away from his contract.

A top prospect in the Detroit organization since 2018, he was once considered by scouts to have a game that was better suited for the NHL than it was for the AHL. Zadina was a top sniper in the QMJHL, and was never really in the AHL long enough to really show us where his sniping game will take him. Rushed to the NHL, he has since seen his ice time drop from nearly 17 minutes per game in 2020-21 to just over 15 minutes to start 2021-22, dropping to 14 minutes by the end of that season. In 2022-23 he saw just 13 minutes per contest. His PP TOI dipped from 2:32 to 2:09 to 1:50 to 0:48. A fresh start is definitely needed, but just as importantly he needs to be healthy for an entire season.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Zadina is a winger and his arrival impacts the other wingers. Alexander Barabanov has a well-established role, and Anthony Duclair is a proven goal scorer who was recently acquired. Kevin Labanc is really starting to establish himself as a two way forward who is probably best suited for the middle six. Assuming Tomas Hertl is used at center, this leaves Jacob Peterson, Fabian Zetterlund and prospect William Eklund. Those are six wingers who almost certainly will be in San Jose's top nine forwards.

The Sharks seemed to be really interested in trying Peterson out on a top line and seeing what kind of upside he brings. Adding Zadina probably disrupts those plans. And it would appear that Zadina also pushed Eklund down to the third line, which would ease his transition into the NHL while at the same time leaving the door open to leapfrog Zadina at a later date.

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

Zadina

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:

Peterson
Zetterlund
Eklund

Here is Zadina’s Player Usage Chart, comparing him to other forwards on Detroit and San Jose. He did very well driving possession, but his minutes were heavily sheltered – he was deployed mostly against the weaker lines: