Red Wings: Steve Yzerman Has Had 'Enough'

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The Detroit Red Wings had a busy first day in free agency.

A mostly accurate account of events on Wednesday morning probably looked like Steve Yzerman asking for free agents like J. Jonah Jameson asks for pictures of Spider-Man. Undoubtedly, Mr. Yzerman rolled up his sleeves and at some point uttered the phrase, ‘let’s get down to business’ after chugging down a cup of coffee and smashing the cup in his hand.

As free agency started, Yzerman’s plans were wildly speculated upon. Many thought the Red Wings were a serious contender in the free agent market, with some in the business believing the Wings would add Evgeni Malkin, to various fans dreaming of adding Johnny Gaudreau. I don’t think anyone thought we would see a flurry of moves quite like we saw unfold.

Steve Yzerman unleashed a flurry of moves on the league as Bruce Lee would fists on his opponent. Yzerman’s purpose for unleashing this fury is simple: he said ‘enough’. Giving up eleven goals against Pittsburgh, ten against Toronto, and nine against Arizona was embarrassing and will not happen again this year under his leadership. Enough. He did this by adding a number of free agents.

Steve Yzerman. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Enough is Enough: Free Agency Breakdown

The first move of the day was Yzerman adding a local product in Andrew Copp.

Copp is known around the league for his effort and knack of excelling in areas of the game that are often overlooked. Growing up in Ann Arbor, playing at the University of Michigan, and now playing for the Red Wings, you know he will give his all to the team he grew up loving.

Ben Chiarot is known around the league for his aggressiveness along the boards and in front of the net. His size allows for a rigged game that will make the Red Wings much harder to play against. Not to mention he won’t allow opponents to easily enter the offensive zone.

Agitation and sandpaper are certainly personified in David Perron, the Red Wings’ newest winger. Not to mention, he has loads of skill to boot. St. Louis fans have been lamenting the loss of Perron as he was a valuable member of their team.

Of course these are just three of Yzerman’s eight free agent signings over the first two days of free agency, but they are the three who will most help establish a culture of being hard to play against in the coming year.

Yzerman had enough of the lopsided losses and meaningless games late in the year against Ottawa (Also, seriously, how awesome could Detroit-Ottawa games be over the next few years?). After the first day of free agency, there is no doubt anymore about the Detroit Red Wings aspirations going into the season, no doubts about Yzerman’s expectations, and no doubts about whether this team will be as easy to play against as last year.

Now I should mention, I’m not saying the Detroit Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup this year. There will surely still be some growing pains at times and they do play in a brutal division. However, what I am saying is that faith can be had that Steve Yzerman is going to put a good product out on the ice.

A product that has the strength and durability of a Nokia 3310 , but might be as flashy as one at times during the year too. It’s important to not get too overly optimistic, but it’s alright to have fun with where this team is at and just enjoy the upward ascent. The hardest years of the current core of the team are behind us and we can look forward to a team that will actually have a chance of making the playoffs AND have a bright future (unlike the end of the previous Red Wings era where a first round exit was inevitable every year and the prospect pool was lacking). There might even be chance enough to win a playoff series.

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Steve Yzerman had his own Amazon Prime Day splurge on Wednesday, and the team is all the better for it.

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