Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman could and should have done more at the trade deadline than he did. The team was in a better place at the time, and despite how unfriendly the trade market looked, wheeling and dealing is supposed to be one of an NHL general manager’s many talents, is it not?
While Yzerman received a lot of criticism, and rightfully so, others came to his defense and praised his near-idleness at the deadline. Personally, I wasn’t happy with his lack of action, but I saw a reason for bringing in a pair of utility players in Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith.
It’s become clear that Smith is primarily a player head coach Todd McLellan puts onto the fourth line to wreak havoc, and nothing more. In four games with the Wings, Smith has eight hits, a block, and a pair of takeaways. But that’s about all he’s got going his way in what has been an average of 11 minutes and 10 seconds of ice time.
Steve Yzerman may have outsmarted the NHL in a recent deadline trade
This brings me to Petr Mrazek, who was part of the same trade that brought in Craig Smith. Mrazek, who is most likely insurance should the Red Wings make the playoffs as the crease is Cam Talbot’s to lose, has more than exceeded expectations.
Mrazek has made three appearances so far with two wins, a quality starts percentage of 0.667, a 0.920 save percentage, a 2.01 GAA, and a shutout. While I liked this trade because of the much-needed depth it added at goaltender, I didn’t anticipate Mrazek playing such good hockey so early.
For the Red Wings, it was a momentum-shifter, given the way they were ailing before Mrazek arrived. But he came in, stabilized the position for at least the short term, and helped the Wings capture two much-needed wins. This was about as close to a best-case scenario as fans could get, and it shows that Steve Yzerman may’ve seen something many fans missed.
Will Petr Mrazek continue playing at such a high level?
While Petr Mrazek will split the net with Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon for this playoff push, it leads to a burning question of whether he’ll keep playing as well as he has. But the real question is: Will all the Red Wings goaltenders play at an elevated level with Mrazek’s presence?
Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, and Mrazek are all quality goaltenders for this playoff race and while none of them are elite, a trio of solid netminders should take this team a long way. This is, of course, assuming they put the worst of that six-game losing streak behind them.
Still, having fresh legs out on the ice every few games or rolling with the ‘hot hand’ until they prove otherwise gives the Wings more options than most of the league. That’s going to work well for Detroit as they look to finally put a stop to this playoff drought and become a relevant team in the eyes of the NHL fandom once more.