Yeah I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with that Dunn trade, That's WAY too much for Dunn.

So what, you actually think Zadina will be a top 6 forward in a contending team in the coming 5 years? I truly dont think so...

Devon Toews was traded under similar circumstances for two seconds. Dunn isn't Toews i.e. he's worth less. Think a second and a third and I wouldn't even do that trade.
As far as Zadina goes he's already a top six forward, I suspect that you, like most hockey fans, have an inflated view of what a top six forward looks like. Zadina has averaged .46 points a game since becoming a Red Wing so I'm not really sure what you're driving at or seeing.

He is a top 6 forward in, to be honest, one of the worst teams in NHL. So if Detroit wants to improved. Do you think he will be a top 6 forward then? I think he will be a great 3 line LW but no more than that.

I think he will be a sixty point forward in the very near future. That would make him a first liner on either side. He had Covid this year and didn't play well when he came back (shocking since no one did). I think you need to be a little more patient. He's only 21! My own eye test saw massive improvement away from the puck and that was confirmed by both Blashill and Yzerman. I'll trust my own eyes and Stevie any day...

Zadina for Dunn? 🤣

Zadina is a de facto first line winger in Detroit. Detroit is short on talent in the top-6 and will not trade any of those players away, it'd leave too big a hole in the roster.

Detroit would like Dunn but will not offer talent they can't afford to lose. The Washington 1st round pick is the best they can do.

Thats good and i hope you are right. I am of a different opinion and i might be wrong but that is life sometimes

Dunn can be had for draft pick(s) and would be a great fit in this rebuild. Zadina won’t be dealt.

I personally think that it is one of the biggest misconceptions in hockey that being a great/good player on a bad team, somehow makes that player less. If anything, when you factor in what they're able to do with limited support around them, and less favorable matchups or an ability of the coach to put them on the ice in more favorable conditions, it makes them more valuable.

Big no on that Dunn trade. Dunn is not enough of a difference maker to risk losing Zadina, who MAY become a legit 1st line winger in the NHL.

This post, right here, is everything.

Zadina's most common Cs were Namestnikov (13% of the time), and then Larkin (just shy of 13% of the time). Imagine a full season with real 1C (yes, Larkin is a 1C, not necessarily an elite 1C, but he is a top-line C). Zadina's best performance came with Larkin as his C (the numbers for Namestnikov are REALLY bad, dragging it all down). Larkin's best numbers came with Zadina and Fabbri as the wingers. Imagine what the top line(s) could look like next year just using the existing roster:

Vrana/Larkin/Zadina
Bert/Veleno or Rass/Fabbri (I'd like to see Veleno here, though his future is a 3C).


In DET's low event hockey style, a winger is not going to be able to drive play, it must come from the Cs and Ds (not quite the left wing lock, but close). Until the team is deeper down the middle, Zadina's play-driving abilities are going to get washed away with the low event style partnered with a poor D (though, D help is coming too).

Zadina currently isn't a top-line winger on a top team, but he is a top 6 winger on a top team. You can't drive play when you are the only play driver on a line.

I fully agree, but is Zadina a great player in Detroit?

I understand i touched a very sensitive zone with Zadina which i think is interesting. I think time will tell if he is part of Detroit and if he is legit top 6. At this point i just dont see what you all see but as i said before, maybe i am wrong and I hope so since he was a high pick he should hopefully convert into a big game player. Lets see in a few years where he is and what status is.

I see both sides to this. There's the side that you're pointing out that it's more impressive when they produce with a lack of talent around them. The other side is that bad teams still score a couple goals a game and guys that would be 3rd liners playing 12 minutes all even strength on a good team can be 1st liners playing 18 minutes and getting PP time on a weak team which can inflate stats. This is where pro scouting comes in to validate.

In terms of the Oilers trade. I'm not usually a fan of throwing a 1st at a cap dump but if you got both of those contracts gone I wouldn't think twice. That said, market value to eat cap is probably too high and Oilers more likely to have to use buyouts.

Way over valued on Dunn here. I don't think Dunn is worthless, but he is worth less... alot less. Dunn is considered an unreliable defenseman, has problems with giveaways and his d-zone. If Detroit was giving up Zadina, there would have to be a pick coming back to Detroit in this.