Ask 1,000 Red Wings fans about the Yzerplan and you’re getting 1,000 different takes, even if some opinions match up. And on paper, it’s the type of plan I’d have drawn up back in the old days when I played EA Sports video games and acted like an NHL general manager.
While I didn’t often play as the Red Wings back in the day, as they were too relevant at the time, I’d do everything in my power to turn the “expansion” Blizzards - who resembled the Utah Hockey Club, ironically - into a powerhouse through building my prospects pool, exercising patience, and making the occasional blockbuster trade.
Better yet, blockbuster trade if I wasn’t about to break the salary cap. And wow, did it work well, with Nikita Filatov of all players becoming my star. Yep, I even managed to turn a draft bust in real life into a perennial All-Star. But, unfortunately, real-life NHL management isn’t a video game, and there’s always a timetable.
Yeah, it took a long time for Yzerman to build the Tampa Bay Lightning into the powerhouse they still are. But when you compare the Red Wings with the Yzerman-era Lightning, there are a few differences, one of which is the lack of a star player. And that’s one reason I said the Wings rebuild was in trouble.
But, today, I wanted to be more objective in my approach. Is it working, and still on pace for a Lightning-like takeover, or are the Wings mired in perpetual mediocrity?
Why you can still believe in the Yzerplan
No, Yzerman hasn’t drafted a star player like Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, or Nathan MacKinnon, but he rarely swings and misses. I mean, you got Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper, and Sebastian Cossa, just to name a few. Compare those names to those the league’s other 31 general managers have drafted, and the Wings reign supreme.
Then, there’s the epic pipeline. And while I’m not opposed to breaking it down some if it means landing that star player or something closer to, it’s deep. Players like Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Cossa, Trey Augustine, and Albert Johansson are all names that I’d been sold on since before they became Red Wings. Imagine what this team will look like when most of the above are full-time NHLers.
The cap situation still isn’t half-bad, and with the cap raising, it’ll get better. This has come because Yzerman, during the earlier days of the rebuild and even today, didn’t make long-term commitments with free agents. This works on two fronts: If Yzerman botches a free agent signing, they’re not in town long anyway. And it keeps them from getting in the prospects’ way.
Finally, Yzerman knew this rebuild wouldn’t yield results overnight. And hey, don’t “great things come to those who wait,” or something along those lines? While the Yzerplan hasn’t been flawless, it’s still been good to see a strong prospects pool whose play translated well to the NHL over the course of time.
Why Yzerman may be out of a job if the mediocrity continues
Over the last two seasons, the Red Wings should’ve been in the playoffs and they fell short. No matter how you spin the Yzerplan, the fact we saw the Wings play better-than-advertised hockey. This raised the floor, and his failure to capitalize on that improved play because he’s stubbornly stuck to his plan should’ve at least had the organization’s brass contemplating a potential move.
Yeah, if the Wings slowly improved their points total and kept up gradual improvement, I’d be more than happy to keep Yzerman around for at least another year. But the circumstances should’ve allowed for deviation, and Yzerman’s ‘do little’ approach should be criticized.
As I implied earlier, there’s still no game-breaker on this team. Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and Marco Kasper are great players, but they’re Tier II, maybe even Tier III players in the grand scheme that is the NHL. And it’s clear nobody’s making the playoffs with Tier II and Tier III players, none of whom boast Tier I potential.
Yzerman also continues to treat this organization like a glorified expansion team. I get that you don’t want free agents to get in the prospects’ way, and I get that you don’t want to keep those free agents around very long. But dude, it’s still wise to bring in players who won’t hold the team back, and that’s exactly been the case with Justin Holl, just to throw an example out there.
All of this has Detroit stuck in the absolute worst place any team in any pro sports league can find themselves in: the fringe contender zone. You’re no longer bad enough to land high picks and potential game-breakers, but you’re also not good enough to even sneak your way into the playoffs. And it’s also not helping that the St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, and Montreal Canadiens seemingly passed your team up.