What is a bold prediction, anyway? For me, it’s a scenario that I can see happening should the right circumstances fall into place AND Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman takes advantage of them.
If you want my honest answer, it’d be this: This time last year, Yzerman would’ve passed, and these bold predictions I’m about to share wouldn’t have been worth writing about. Fast-forward to an offseason following another late-season collapse, and Yzerman knows the seat’s getting warmer.
And if he wants to transform the Red Wings into a team that resembles the one he had in West Florida once upon a time, he’ll make gutsier moves. That said, I have no qualms with the following projections.
Steve Yzerman finds a way to shed two bad contracts
I think we can all point to the contracts I’m talking about, right? Justin Holl and Vladimir Tarasenko. Regarding Holl, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if the Wings bought him out by the time you read this. Hey, he was so bad, that I had to put that disclaimer in there.
As for Tarasenko, he’ll have his takers. He was brilliant in St. Louis, and a solid contributor in New York, Ottawa, and Florida. We may have our gripes about Tarasenko, but NHL front offices remember the kind of damage he’s done in the past.
So, somehow, he’s finding a home for Tarasenko. And that’ll be just the first of two trades I have lined up in this piece. But first, let’s talk about what I got Yzerman doing at the NHL Draft should the ideal scenario erupt.
Red Wings keep the 13th pick…and land a steal
For those slated to go in the top five, James Hagens is the likeliest to freefall. Farfetched? Hey, just ask Cole Eiserman, who slipped all the way to the New York Islanders this time last year.
Anyway, whether it’s Hagens or someone else, someone slips through the cracks and falls right to Yzerman this coming Friday. And no, he won’t hesitate. At the end of the day, the Wings get a new face in the prospects pool, and one who can rise through the ranks fast.
And it’s all coming together when the Wings core is adding some finishing touches? Or, at least to the point that a player drafted 13th could reach the big club after a seasoned veteran goes elsewhere, plays on a more than manageable contract, and finally helps get this group to the promised land.
Oh, and it would open the door for what I got in store for Bold Prediction No. 3. And you might like it.
Yzerman alters the Yzerplan and Wings fans will love it
I’ve often said that if you polled well over 1,000 Red Wings fans about the Yzerplan, you’d get so many mixed opinions you’d have a rough time recording them all. Heck, you may not even bother after the first 100 responses.
But if Yzerman alters the Yzerplan and dishes off a prospect, even a high-end one, an up-and-down player like J.T. Compher, and a 2026 first-round pick for someone like Jason Robertson or even JJ Peterka, they’d be in business.
For someone like Robertson, Yzerman would likely also need to move a mid-round pick in 2026 to add more spice to the deal. And for the record, yes, I was thinking of the Alex DeBrincat trade here when concocting the offer you see above.
Back in 2023, Yzerman pawned off a first-rounder in 2024, a fourth in 2024, Dominik Kubalik, and Donovan Sebrango. Peterka’s price may not be as high, but if it is, I’m paying it. He’s putting up at least 75 points next season. Guaranteed.
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