Red Wings Organization Grade: Yzerman and Blashill
Yzerman’s Free Agency Signings
The Red Wings signed a slew of free agents in the offseason, and a few played relatively important roles on the team.
The biggest signing, Thomas Greiss, looked like the biggest whiff through the first half of the season; he held a sub .900 save percentage through the first three months and notched just one victory in that time (To be fair, goal support was not there during this stretch). But Greiss pulled a complete 180, and looked like one of the best goaltenders in the league during the final months of the season.
Bobby Ryan and Troy Stecher were the team’s best signings. Unfortunately, Ryan’s season was cut short just before the deadline; before the injury, he was one of the better depth-scorers on the roster (7 goals and 7 assists in 33 games), comfortably slotting into the second line. Stecher was a large reason for the defensive improvement of the team. While not flashy, Stecher rarely made mistakes and played a strong defensive game. He paired well with nearly every defenseman on the roster; in fact, for a good stretch of time, the Stecher-Staal defensive pairing was statistically best in the league during 5v5 play.
Jon Merrill and Vladislav Namestnikov were also solid signings. Merrill played safe defense throughout the year, and earned Detroit an extra fifth round pick at the trade deadline. Namestnikov didn’t really live up to expectations, but he was acceptable as a depth center.
The remaining three signed agents, Kevin Boyle, Riley Barber and Kyle Criscuolo all were assigned to Grand Rapids throughout the entire year.
The 2020 free agent class was just solid. Although Yzerman didn’t sign any game breakers, the players were certainly a step up from last year’s placeholders. Troy Stecher, Bobby Ryan and Thomas Greiss all played important roles on the team; each helped improve the team in some way when they were on the ice. A cynicism could say the class was underwhelming by looking at individual performances, but there was a tangible improvement on the ice. Much of that was due to the additions (And subtractions) to the team during the offseason. As a whole, the free agency was good – but not special.. . Detroit Red Wings. 2020 FREE AGENCY . B
Yzerman’s Trades
Yzerman only had one trade during the offseason, as he weaponized the Red Wing’s plentiful cap space to absorb Marc Staal’s $5.7 million contract for a second round pick from the New York Rangers.
2021’s biggest moment for the Red Wings came during the trade deadline. The deadline seemed to have been a slow one for Detroit, as 3 p.m. came and passed. The only trades leading up to the day were Merrill for a fifth and Patrik Nemeth for a fourth. But just minutes later, news leaked Yzerman’s blockbuster trade with the Washington Capitals. In exchange for Anthony Mantha, Detroit received a 2021 first round pick, a 2022 second, Richard Panik and Jakub Vrana. At the time, most considered the trade a huge victory for Detroit – and that opinion was validated as the season came to a close. Vrana practically exploded offensively, averaging a point-per-game in his 11 as a Red Wing. Not only did Detroit receive a player essentially at the same level as Mantha, they also increased their already impressive amount of draft capital.
TRADES . A. The Anthony Mantha trade alone boosts this category to an easy A. If I were nitpicking, I’d say Yzerman could’ve gotten a better return for Jon Merrill, but the loss of a depth defensemen pales in comparison to the massive return for Mantha. Vrana already looks like one of the best players in Detroit – he already has the best shot on the team. Even if the 11 game stretch was an aberration, it should comfort fans knowing he has the ability to play at such a high level. To get a full view of the trade, we’ll have to wait and see who is picked with the new draft picks, but for now, Yzerman gets high-marks for such an important move.. . Detroit Red Wings
Jeff Blashill
On the Ice
The Red Wings were better in 2021 than they were last year. This is especially true on the defensive side of the ice. The 2019-20 team finished dead last in defense, with 3.73 average goals against per game; this year, Detroit finished 20th in the league with an average of exactly 3 goals against per game.
Blashill’s system was devoted entirely to improving the team defensively, he often waxed poetically about the importance of playing a tight, mistake free game. And the results on the ice proved that it worked.
Although the defense was heavily improved, the offense remained miserable. Detroit’s 2.23 average goals per game was only better than the Anaheim Ducks during the season. Blashill’s defense-first scheme created on offensive black hole, and many of Detroit’s top-scoring players regressed statistically.
The special teams struggled again this year – especially the power play, which finished at 11.4 percent, second worst in the NHL. Dan Bylsma took the fall for the man-advantage failures at the end of the season, but the head coach still deserves some blame for how the power play was run. With a late-season push, the penalty kill actually improved all the way to 22nd in the league, impressive for a team that was bottom-three in that category for a majority of the year.
B. Expectations are important to weigh-in when discussing the results of a hockey team. In a vacuum, the Red Wings objective had a terrible year. But considering the injuries at the end of the season, the covid scare through the first two weeks, last years absolute failure of a squad and the overall makeup of the roster, the results on the ice were not bad at all. The team finished with nine more points this year in 15 less games, and took an absolute leap offensively. But the team didn’t really exceed expectations: of course they were better than they dumpster fire that was the 2019-20 team. They still were terrible offensively and they were still garbage on the power play. Blashill certainly deserves credit for a mightily improved blue line, which was league average in 5v5 hockey, but he must also take partial blame for the offensive black hole and special team failures. To be fair to Blashill, the team lacks a chunk of scoring talent: it’s hard to do something with nothing.. . Detroit Red Wings. RESULTS ON THE ICE
Lineup Decisions
This was a category that many fans had qualms with all year. A few healthy scratches had fans shaking their heads: Evgeni Svechnikov (often) and Troy Stecher were the most perplexing.
Special teams also had some rough lineups: Filip Hronek failed miserably as a power play quarterback, and the end of the season saw players like Valterri Filppula receive decent ice time on the power play (To be fair, this was due to injuries).
Blashill’s strength in lineup decisions was defensive pairs. For a team that actually had a league average 5v5 defense, the pairings were the key to success. Staal-Stecher found plenty of defensivesuccess, and Merill-Nemeth provided a comfortable bottom-pairing. A few times, the team also opted to run with an additional defensemen, opting for the 11 forwards and seven defensemen lineup. For all the shellacking Blashill received for his forward lineups, his defensive pairings were silently good.
C+. You can’t make something out of nothing. Lineup decisions were not going to change this team much; while leaving Svechnikov in the dust hurt, it ultimately didn’t mean almost anything to the wins and losses column. Also important to note: Steve Yzerman said straight up in his press conference that he was in close communication with Blashill throughout the entire season. These healthy scratches and lineup changes weren’t just subject to the whims of Blashill, they had the approval of the organization. While some of the offensive lines were (rightly) criticized, the solid choices for defensive pairings went unnoticed most of the season: those kind of decision <em>are </em>important, and Blashill ultimately made them. The putrid special teams lineups drag the grade down a bit, but hopefully the absence of Dan Bylsma will change this next season.. . Detroit Red Wings. LINEUP DECISIONS
Development
There were actually a few quality examples of development this season. Michael Rasmussen is probably the most obvious, as he finally looks comfortable at an NHL level. His skating has improved, and he’s learning to use his large frame to affect the game – setting screens in front of the net and winning puck battles.
Filip Zadina development is a bit more hidden, but it was certainly there. In 2019 he had 15 points in 28 games, while this year he only had 19 points in 21 additional games), but the eye test shows a player improving his two-way game. It’s a classic (and sometimes annoying) hockey saying, but Zadina really is becoming a two way player. Billed as a goal scorer, Zadina showed that he can utilize his skillset to keep offensive possession, steal pucks and stay safe defensively. While Zadina’s shooting percentage regressed heavily (From 13.3 percent last year to 6.2 this year), it looks like most of his other skills are improved as well.
However, there was a glaring example of regression this year: Dylan Larkin. After receiving the title of team captain, Larkin scored just 23 points – the worst in his NHL career (Points per game, it’s slightly better than his 2016-17 sophomore season). Larkin attempted to round out his defensive skillset at the cost of a large chunk of his offense.
While Larkin’s season was pretty rough, for the most part, the rest of the team took steps forward. Rasmussen and Zadina were just the most obvious examples, Givani Smith and Gustav Lindstrom also took steps forward as NHL players in their short stints on the main roster. The team as a whole improved defensively, and you saw that reflect in the development of the players. Despite what fans might feel about Blashill’s defensive system, there is no arguing that it is improving the defensive toolkit of a large part of the roster.. . Detroit Red Wings. PLAYER DEVELOPMENT . B
Must Read. Would Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Seth Jones be potential targets for Detroit?. light