The Red Wings plan to recall 2018 1st rounder Filip Zadina from Grand Rapids sometime after Monday’s trade deadline. 

According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, that could be put off until the Wings are officially mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.

Zadina, 19, has found his stride as of late in the AHL and has 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points in 43 games. An NHL stint before returning to Grand Rapids to gear up for their playoff run will allow Zadina to see how his game currently stacks up against the best players in the world. It will give him and the Wings player development staff a point of reference as to where he’ll need to improve his game in order to start next season in Detroit.

In Grand Rapids, Filip Zadina is in the midst of a 5 game point streak and is on a line with Wade Megan and Martin Frk. We all know what Martin Frk can do at the AHL level and how reliable Wade Megan is, so look for Zadina to continue to mesh really well with those linemates as Grand Rapids powers into the Calder Cup playoffs.

The Wings will only play Zadina a maximum of 9 games this season so they don’t burn a year of his ELC and make him expansion draft eligible.  The rules for the coming expansion draft will be the exact same ones as Vegas drafted under.

The Wings will have to decide where they’ll want to slot Zadina in, but on the top line with Larkin makes sense, especially if Nyquist is traded.