Steve Yzerman keeping the Detroit Red Wings roster intact for years is brilliant

The Detroit Red Wings have taken some serious strides forward. They have been able to bring in players who have made a difference, and they have found players who have been able to contribute offensively, helping Detroit get into the postseason hunt.

The team is also doing an excellent job of stacking talent and players for the future ahead. Whether it be the Detroit Red Wings blockbuster trade to acquire Alex DeBrincat and his extension or Tuesday's move to extend Michael Rasmussen, good things are happening.

The Red Wings are doing the right thing, which should be expected from Steve Yzerman. He's done a lot at the top of this organization and has found ways to get the job done for the team, bringing in quality players and also working the trade market to his advantage as well.

The point is that Rasmussen's four-year extension could be a sign of things to come. Detroit could be looking to lock up their roster and look to keep the same group of players year-over-year to see if this thing can't become a winning club.

Obviously, there will be prospects poking through, some unrestricted free agents (UFAs) who do not get re-signed, and expected trades, but it seems like the Detroit wants to lock down their core for the next few seasons.

Detroit Red Wings making the smart decision to lock down roster.

Sure, there are still younger players who need extensions and UFAs to look to bring back, but Detroit is starting to move in the right direction. While Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond are going to need to get big-time extensions to be locked down, Detroit is also going to round out its roster with other players to fill roles.

Frankly, this is where a move to extend someone like Patrick Kane comes in. He's on a one-year, $2.75 million contract that is pro-rated in 2023-24. He's more than deserving of an extension to return and play for Detroit once again. Bob Heyrman recently wrote about this, mentioning a couple of other players as well.

Heyrman's piece mentions extending both Christian Fischer and Daniel Sprong. It's something that really needs to get done. Fischer has carved out a niche role in the bottom six and has been firing on all cylinders for Detroit. Sprong has been exactly what was expected of him after his season in Seattle last year.

Detroit's used him in the right ways, and it's yielded great results offensively. The point is that these are role players who deserve those chances to come back to Detroit and help keep this group together. It seems like this group is working well together, the room seems to gel well, and the players are bought in and battling for one another.

With that being said, it's easy to see why Detroit would want to keep this group together or as intact as they could be. Nothing's really set in stone, but it seems like Yzerman will try to keep a majority of this core together. It's the right move for the Red Wings.