After another year of disappointment, where do the Red Wings go from here?
The NHL Trade Deadline came and went with little noise made by Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman.
Aside from bringing back goaltender Petr Mrazek from the Chicago Blackhawks, Yzerman didn’t do much of anything, signaling he didn’t have a ton of faith in his roster. The Red Wings ultimately missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season. Yzerman has yet to bring the Red Wings to the playoffs since getting brought in as GM in 2019.
The inactive deadline caught criticism (specifically by yours truly) in the media. But it seemingly also did not sit well with the locker room. In his end-of-season media availability, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin did not mince words regarding his GM’s work at the Trade Deadline. Larkin insinuated the players were deflated by the team’s inactivity and not gaining help on the ice for the group to make a playoff push.
If we’re being honest, would an addition or two have been the difference in the Red Wings finally getting back into the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade? It’s debatable at best, as the team graded out as one of the league’s worst defensive teams throughout the season and probably needed more significant additions than what was available to Yzerman at the deadline. Speaking to one executive more than a month ago, it was hinted to me that the Red Wings did check in on defenseman Brandon Carlo (eventually dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs). Still, they weren’t prepared to pay the premium to bring him in. So, in Yzerman’s mind, I’d assume there was a thought process of not wanting to spend big if the team was not an authentic Stanley Cup contender.
But even if this is true (and arguably a fair thought process) by Yzerman, the message sent to his roster that this was yet another punted year is one that is becoming far too redundant in Motor City.
The Red Wings (and their fans and the media) knew this rebuild would take a long time once the reins were passed to Yzerman from his predecessor Ken Holland. After 25 years of making the playoffs, a major step back in the way of postseason contention and success was expected. But as we creep towards Yzerman’s seventh season as GM, there is legitimate cause for concern as to where the ultimate destination is for the Red Wings.
When you have a team like the Ottawa Senators have the season they had after starting their rebuild around the same time as Detroit, it is fair to ask what the major difference is. General manager Steve Staios has only been on the scene for 18 months in Ottawa, but his (albeit few) additions to a core he inherited have hit big time. Nick Jensen was quietly one of the most impactful additions of the offseason, as the effect he’s had on Thomas Chabot has been palpable. Linus Ullmark has been good when healthy in goal; Dylan Cozens had an immediate impact after coming over from the Buffalo Sabres at the deadline. Mix in a few depth additions with Stanley Cup experience along with the right head coaching hire in Travis Green and you have an extremely impressive inaugural full season for Staios.
Yzerman has not entirely sat on his hands in the way of outside additions, as he has actually been pretty active in free agency in trying to bolster his team’s depth. Up front, while not all the additions have paid off (ie. Vladimir Tarasenko), they have been acceptable at the very least. J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, Alex DeBrincat (via trade) and Patrick Kane have all been OK to good additions; be that as it may, they haven’t moved the needle enough.
Why? The Red Wings lack legitimate star power up front. Larkin is a passable No. 1 center but isn’t an elite pivot like Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews. Lucas Raymond’s 80-point season has given some optimism, but is he going to be a game-breaking winger? Depth is great, but it doesn’t mean much when you don’t have the horses to carry the lion’s share of the load.
The back end is where things have really gone haywire for Yzerman, as the outside additions have been an unmitigated disaster. Ben Chiarot, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, Jeff Petry – none has been even close to what the doctor has ordered in the way of insulating promising young, cornerstone blueliners Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider.
So what went wrong with how Yzerman added to his group?
“(They) took the best available (options in trade and free agency) to speed things up – not (waiting for) the best fit,” one Eastern Conference executive told Daily Faceoff.
It’s difficult to dispute this point, as Yzerman’s recent additions, particularly on defense, have been disappointing at best. There is a valid argument to be made for the need to revamp his pro scouting department, as these acquisitions have largely failed to meet expectations.
The one argument that is consistently thrown my way when I critique the “Yzerplan” is that the rebuild is far from over and that Detroit has a long list of promising kids shooting up the pipeline. With 30 picks in the last three NHL Drafts, I have no doubt that there will be some nice players showing up at the NHL level sooner rather than later in Detroit. Question is, how good will said players ultimately be?
“They have players coming but how impactful will they be is the real question,” a Western Conference executive told Daily Faceoff.
The same executive went on to say that he doesn’t believe that there is a true gamebreaker that Detroit has coming. Defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka is arguably the most sexy player the Red Wings have in their system, but the executive said he doesn’t believe that the 2023 first-round pick will be a top pair defenseman. Sebastien Cossa will likely be an NHL goaltender, but while he is “for real,” whether or not he pans out into a true no.1 is in question, according to the executive.
There are more players coming, and there is definitely a chance that the Red Wings have struck (or will strike) gold with one of their many recent draft selections. However, things seem more bleak than they should be at this stage of the rebuild, especially when compared to what is happening in Ottawa. Additionally, if we look just two hours down the road, we can see that the Montreal Canadiens have re-entered the competition three years after beginning their own rebuild.
What’s the most significant difference between the Red Wings and their two playoff Atlantic Division counterparts? More impactful drafted players at the NHL level and better outside additions to help insulate said players. The Canadiens added forward Alex Newhook, defenseman Mike Matheson, and goaltender Samuel Montembeault – all of whom have had arguably better impacts than any of Detroit’s additions.
There is still time left in Detroit for things to turn around, but after seeing two divisional teams in similar organizational phases leapfrog them (specifically the Canadiens), the criticism his captain is throwing Yzerman’s way is more than warranted.
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