Steve Yzerman preaches internal depth following a quiet trade deadline
A quiet, boring deadline is probably the right thing down the road for the Detroit Red Wings.
The Detroit Red Wings didn't make a splash ahead of the NHL trade deadline, but looking at their situation as a whole, no move of substance is probably the best thing moving forward for this organization.
General manager Steve Yzerman did make a minor move on Friday, shipping out forward Klim Kostin for veteran defenseman Radek Simek and a seventh-round draft pick via New Jersey. Kostin hadn't played much for Detroit since the calendar turned from 2023 to 2024, and reports suggest he was a bit upset with his lack of usage. Simek, 31, was the captain of the San Jose Barracuda this season and will directly report to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Simek is a pending free agent earning a mere $1.1 million; he will add some depth to the Griffins' stout backend.
The move also frees up Kostin's contract, which has one year remaining following this season and averages $2 million annually. It's one of those Yzerman signings that didn't work out the way many of us expected. As he's been in the past, Yzerman is quick to move on from a player if he feels it's best for the organization. The savings will likely be spent on re-signing the likes of Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and hopefully Patrick Kane this summer. Let me clarify some of the nit-pickers; obviously, the $2 million savings aren't enough to re-sign these three, but the added $2 million to the pool of funds available following the season adds more flexibility.
Derek Lalonde mentions that no deadline addition might be the best addition.
The chemistry within a roster is important. Although the Detroit Red Wings didn't make a splash, it's not all bad. I am disappointed about two things. Despite the fact that Detroit could unload Kostin's salary, they could not rid themselves of Justin Holl's horrible contract that averages $3.4 million annually. Holl, 32, is under contract for two more seasons and hasn't been able to solidify a role with the Red Wings. Detroit's defense rotation from earlier in the year has dried up, with veterans Jeff Petry and Olli Maatta garnering the coaching staff's trust. Many Detroit fans have grown to despise Petry, but it's clear that Bob Boughner and Derek Lalonde are comfortable playing him alongside Ben Chiarot on the second pairing. That unit takes on a lot of the challenging assignments each night, plus they've really contributed to Detroit's impressive penalty kill (aside from the recent game in Colorado).
Maatta has performed well with Gostisbehere, but that third pairing does find themselves in trouble at times, particularly while on the road when Lalonde can't protect them matchup-wise like he can on home ice. Moving Holl this summer to create extra space to re-sign some of Detroit's pending free agents should be a top priority for Yzerman.
"Our best addition may be no addition because of the group we have," Lalonde said
Steve Yzerman preaches internal depth following a quiet trade deadline; it's probably the best moving forward.
The Detroit Red Wings have progressively gotten better year-to-year under the guidance of Steve Yzerman, and they found themselves somewhat between a rock and hard place hours before the trade deadline. The Red Wings are not ready to contend for a Stanley Cup, yet they are too good to sell off assets as they currently control the first wild card position in the Eastern Conference.
During his post-trade deadline press conference, Yzerman discussed building a nucleus of young prospects and how he wanted to maintain their assets rather than flipping young players out for a rental. He also talked specifically about Jonatan Berggren and Simon Edvinsson.
"Giving up a first, second, or third-round pick for a [depth player], we're better off bringing up our guys from Grand Rapids for that," he said. Sending players like Edvinsson and Berggren to play in Grand Rapids this year wasn't necessarily about this year. It's about the next 15 to 18 years. They're going to be really good players, and I like to think they're better players today, and I know they're playing a bigger role than they would have in Detroit."
"I think the atmosphere within the team...is we have very good team spirit," Yzerman said. "There's a lot of enthusiasm. You hear the players talk about how much they're enjoying playing there, so that's encouraging, and they have got us into a good spot here."
" We're building a nucleus of young prospects that are going to be a part of this team...We're slowly seeing some of those kids in GR not only develop from junior and college and Europe into good American League players, but they're just slowing moving up the pipeline...It's only a matter of time before they're in the NHL and playing regularly."
Not selling proves the Red Wings have taken yet another significant step forward in their rebuild.
Sure, maybe it would have made sense to move a couple of pending free agents such as David Perron, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere, and even perhaps Patrick Kane for an abundance of future assets, but doing that you risk conveying a negative message to the team. The players that have been with Detroit through these lean years have been a large part of the rebuild, and they've fought hard to be right in the postseason race. Standing pat was probably the best move for team morale, and it also tells this group that the Red Wings want to continue to build this thing from within and maybe make a bit of a splash in the summer.
In closing, Yzerman discussed the organization's pending unrestricted free agents. He acknowledged that the team will most likely be unable to re-sign all of them, but he's had conversations with each of their agents and mentioned that he just wants to see how the remainder of the year plays out. He mentioned that extending the restricted free agents, whether long-term or short-term, will impact what they can do regarding the UFAs.
I believe James Reimer and Shayne Gostisbehere are on their way out over the summer. Extending Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond will be Yzerman's top priority, and I believe re-signing Patrick Kane should also be a priority.
Following that, it comes down to nickel and dimes with Joe Veleno, David Perron, Daniel Sprong, and Christian Fischer. Some likely won't be back due to the salary cap, but that will pave the way for players like Berggren, Edvinsson, and perhaps Marco Kasper or Carter Mazur to become regulars at the NHL level.
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