Leave it to the Red Wings to win their previous three games when it no longer matters. With the season ending tonight, the Wings can claim bragging rights if they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team that looks like it’s finally good enough to exorcise its playoff demons.
Looking at the previous three contests, the Wings outdueled their opponents by a combined score of 15 to 9, or 5-3 on average. They logged an astounding 90 shots on goal and allowed only 79 shots in that same span. Once again, do the math, and you’re looking at 30 shots taken per game vs. just over 26 allowed.
Oh, and their last three opponents were the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, and New Jersey Devils. What’s the common denominator there? Yep, they’re all playoff-bound. So, it leads me to ask the question: Why couldn’t the Red Wings have been doing this over the past two months? Honestly, it makes zero sense, and it shouldn’t give general manager Steve Yzerman a reprieve.
Red Wings surge doesn’t mean Steve Yzerman deserves another chance
I feel like I’m paraphrasing myself often, but Steve Yzerman’s been at the helm for a while now, and he’s never put together a team good enough to make the playoffs. Yeah, he’s had teams capable of earning a trip to the postseason, but close only counts in horseshoes, as the old saying goes.
So, there are no more excuses for Yzerman, even if the Wings end the season on a so-called ‘high note.’ Because right now, there are no high notes. Not when you entered the ‘down the stretch’ period as a serious wild card contender and squandered it for the second year running.
Yeah, it’s great to see the Red Wings winning games at the end of the season, but it’s way too little, too late. Yzerman had multiple chances to improve this team at the trade deadline in 2024 and 2025 and he chose not to. That said, it’s time to give Yzerman’s tenure in Hockeytown a long, drawn-out look.
Red Wings need to ask their general manager a critical question
Red Wings brass needs to pull Steve Yzerman aside and ask him one critical question: How do you plan on getting this team to the playoffs next season? Hopefully, Yzerman’s answer will go into some detail, and it would entail adding proven, existing talent in their prime to the lineup.
No more of these homegrown prospects. It’s not a bad idea, but Yzerman’s proving quickly that an intriguing core doesn’t translate into sustained success. Yeah, it lays a great foundation, but you need to build a house on that foundation, and Yzerman, at best, has left the job half-completed.
So, there should be no second thoughts, even if the Wings go out and beat Toronto tonight. Yzerman shouldn’t get a reprieve because the Wings went out and won four meaningless games, even if that win vs. the Stars had some sentimental meaning to it. Anyway, we’ll see what the Wings decide in the very, very near future.