No, this doesn't have anything to do with Led Zeppelin. When Steve Yzerman took over as the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, the cupboards were bare not only at the NHL level but throughout the minors as well. This isn't an excuse as to why it has taken this rebuild so long to complete, but the organization had been running on bald tires for quite some time. Now, overhauling for eight years is far too long even for a full-blown rebuild, let alone failing to qualify for the postseason. Yzerman has drawn criticism for this, and rightfully so, but it appears the organization is finally preparing the cabin for takeoff.
The Detroit Red Wings have slowly improved their roster year-to-year under the guidance of Yzerman. Has he been perfect? No, of course not. Are there circumstances in which Yzerman deserves to be criticized? Absolutely. A couple of moves that come to mind right away are signing Andrew Copp to such a lucrative deal, trading Jake Walman away, and attaching a second-round pick to do so, only to replace him with Erik Gustafsson. Plus, adding Ville Husso via trade and overpaying him. Then there was the whole Jakub Vrana debacle. There are other transactions that could be questioned as well, but those few seem to stand out.
That said, the Red Wings seem to be on their way now. Last season, Yzerman added Alex DeBrincat in a trade with Ottawa, plus signed star winger Patrick Kane, and found a way to extend the future first-ballot Hall of Famer this past summer. Detroit also replaced David Perron with free agent Vladimir Tarasenko, thanks to some helpful recruiting from Kane. Understanding Detroit will have Kane's services from day one this year, plus the upgrade of Tarasenko, the Red Wings have quietly improved their group of top-six forwards. Yzerman then re-tooled Detroit's bottom-six forwards, adding penalty-kill specialist Tyler Motte. The Red Wings remain hopeful Jonatan Berggren, a homegrown asset, blossoms into a reliable scoring winger who can produce like Daniel Sprong did a year ago but is less of a defensive liability.
A change in direction for the Detroit Red Wings.
Moving on from players like Shayne Gostisbehere, Daniel Sprong, and Robby Fabbri proves the Red Wings want to be a complete team in 2024-25, shifting from that run-and-gun style last year. A player like Motte won't garner much attention. Still, if he can provide a little sandpaper and excel in a shutdown role on special teams with Andrew Copp, Michael Rasmussen, Joe Veleno, or Christian Fischer, it will help the Red Wings protect leads late in games.
Detroit's backend remains a question. Did they improve as a group? Did they get worse? Or are they stuck in neutral? Maybe I am a bit too optimistic here, but I do believe they slightly improved as a whole. Many fans despise Ben Chiarot, but his play drastically improved last season compared to his first year with the organization. He plays with a bit of an edge and performed well down the stretch last season paired with Moritz Seider. Chiarot doesn't have the same offensive upside Jake Walman did, but he's a well-rounded defender who isn't afraid to clear the front of the net, bang the body, or clutch and dig in the defensive zone corners.
Adding Simon Edvinsson to the group of top-four defenders is automatically an upgrade to what the Red Wings deployed last season albeit he will likely be paired with Jeff Petry. Petry, another fan favorite, is better suited to be a third-pairing defender at this juncture of his career and did gel nicely with the young left-hander late last season. Petry also played a ton with Chiarot over the course of his career with Montreal and Detroit, so that familiarity will give head coach Derek Lalonde some options if he wants to pair up Edvinsson with Seider for specific matchups, especially with the last change while on home ice. The fact is, Detroit just doesn't have many alternative options to Petry to slot in behind Seider on the depth chart. The third pairing projects to be revolving door with a combination of Olli Maatta, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Holl, and Albert Johansson.
I also grouped the goaltending situation in with the 'backend', and it's another area where the Red Wings improved. Alex Lyon and Ville Husso are back each in a contract year, plus Detroit moved on from veteran James Reimer in favor of Cam Talbot. Although I'd like to see Yzerman place Husso on waivers, almost daring someone to take on his $4.75 million contract, but also free up a roster spot for a young forward, whether it's Nate Danielson, Carter Mazur, or Marco Kasper. In fairness, sitting in the pressbox will do none of these kids any good, even if it's on a rotational basis.
Things are going to be a lot of fun for the Detroit Red Wings now and in the future.
Yzerman will be reluctant to call up any of them unless a full-time position is open. The best chance to see Kasper or Danielson in Detroit to begin the year will be if either happens to beat out, say, Joe Veleno or Tyler Motte for a final roster spot. If that happened to be the case, Yzerman could elect to put Husso on waivers, or Justin Holl, for that matter, and Veleno or Motte could remain on the roster as the 13th forward. Detroit's top prospects each have plenty to like; one advantage Danielson has is the fact that he's a right-handed center, an area Detroit has an immediate need. The only traditional right-handed center on the current roster is J.T. Compher.
The Red Wings' long-term future looks bright due to their robust prospect pool. Others not mentioned include Sebastian Cossa, Axel Sandin Pellikka, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, as well as the current core led by captain Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat, Moritz Seider, and Patrick Kane. This thing is going to be fun now and down the road. Enjoy the ride.