The NHL offseason has been quiet in recent weeks, with the league basically on summer vacation. But one team that can't escape the headlines are the Detroit Red Wings. After missing out on the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season, the Red Wings fanbase watched team captain Dylan Larkin request a trade. Then, after weeks of running the draft and free agency, Steve Yzerman stepped down as general manager. So, the Red Wings are searching for their next leader in the front office, which has shown no signs of concluding any time soon.
While Yzerman was a franchise legend as a player, where he brought three Stanley Cup titles to Detroit, his stint as general manager was nowhere near close to that. Fans were urged to "trust the Yzerplan," citing his work as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Instead, the Red Wings watched multiple decisions backfire and the team miss out on the playoffs for 10 consecutive years.
Even though Yzerman is no longer in charge, he is still being held responsible for the state of the organization by the fans.
The Athletic ranks Red Wings front office 30th in NHL following fan survey
The Athletic recently published an article ranking all 32 NHL front offices, based on grades given by each team's respective fan base, and those fans on the outside looking in. For the Red Wings front office, they received the 30th overall ranking and an overall grade of a D-.
"There are obviously positives from the last decade, namely Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond. But everything else on the pro and amateur side was far from ideal," writes Dom Luszczyszyn. "The biggest issue, though, was trying to take the cake out of the oven before it was done rising. What’s left is an underbaked mess for the next guy to clean up. The Red Wings aren’t unsalvageable, but they are in a very unenviable spot post-Yzerplan."
For those curious about the other teams that ranked lower than the Red Wings, they are the Seattle Kraken (31st) and New York Rangers (32nd).
In terms of fan grades, Yzerman and the Red Wings had D- grades for roster building, trading, free agency, and vision. The highest grades fans gave them were C-'s in cap management and drafting and development.
The public perception of the Red Wings' and Yzerman's work was slightly better, and we mean minimally. While matching the fan grades for cap management, drafting and development, and trading, the public gave D's for roster building, free agency, and vision.
Not the greatest state for Yzerman to leave the Red Wings in. Yes, he did hit home runs with the Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, but other than that, there hasn't been many positives on the Red Wings,. We know Yzerman was trying to bring an end to the playoff drought, and blame certainly can be directed to the players and coaches during that span. Even so, Yzerman was responsible for putting these teams together, and if they fail, he is the face of it. And with the tenure over, Yzerman's tenure as general manager will be seen as a massive failure.
New Red Wings GM will have tough job cleaning up Steve Yzerman's mess
Whoever the Red Wings decide to hire as their general manager, whenever that is, they will be tasked with fixing the organization, and building it back up to their reputation of being a model NHL franchise. Given the state of it currently, that new general manager will ahve their work cut out for them.
First up, the new head of the front office will have to talk with Larkin to see what he wants to do. With Yzerman stepping down, will the captain decide to stay? Or will Larkin still ask for a trade, but do the Red Wings a favor and expand his list from the initial three of the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights? Not only that, does the new general manager want a "win-now" trade return, or one that will feature prospects and draft picks?
Speaking of the team direction, the new head of the front office will have to decide which players are going to stay and which ones will go. For the Red Wings, they have an important contract decision looming with winger Alex DeBrincat, who has been one of their top scorers. While DeBrincat has said he wants to stay, will the Red Wings give him the lucrative contract he will seek?
Look, there are so many general manager positions available, and when an executive receives the opportunity, they are going to take it, no matter how messy of a situation it is. Who wouldn't want to be a general manager of one of the NHL's Original Six franchise? While the luster is there, it's a big mess for them to clean up in Detroit.
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