Last week, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman decided to step down from his role. The timing of the decision couldn’t have been worse, with the team deep into its offseason preparations, having completed their draft, in the middle of the free agency period and navigating captain Dylan Larkin’s trade request.
Amid the Red Wings’ diminishing competitive prospects for the 2026-27 campaign, a lot can rightfully be said about Yzerman’s failure to replicate the success he had at the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Seven seasons came and went over this rebuild, popularly dubbed the “Yzerplan”, and this past season’s 92 points represented the team’s peak performance under Yzerman’s watch.
The team finished seven points out of the final wild card playoff spot.
While it is easy and deserved to point blame at this front office’s inability to snap their playoff drought, a full retrospective should also include what they did well.
As we close the book on the Yzerplan, here are a few bright spots that stand out.
Yzerman shed dead weight with savvy moves early
Bad is not a strong enough word to describe the situation the Red Wings were in when Yzerman took over. The 2019-20 team, the first that Yzerman oversaw, was loaded with bad contracts and had next to nothing in terms of young talent. In a COVID-shortened season, Detroit finished with 39 points in 71 games (17-49-5). Dylan Larkin’s 53 points led the team and Tyler Bertuzzi (21 goals) was the only player to clear the 20-goal mark.
The next worst NHL team that year was the San Jose Sharks, who had 63 points in 70 games.
Detroit had to go through a holistic rebuild and Yzerman knew it. Over the next two years, Yzerman cashed in on players who didn’t figure into the long term plans of the team. He flipped Anthony Mantha at the 2021 trade deadline and turned him into Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, a first-round pick and second-round pick. Vrana showed some initial promise with Detroit, scoring 13 goals and 19 points in 26 games after the trade deadline.
Unfortunately, injuries derailed his promise in the ensuing seasons, and he played just 42 games for Detroit in three seasons, but scored 22 times in that span.
In the following March, Yzerman made arguably the best move of his tenure. He turned veteran defenseman Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski into Jake Walman, Oskar Sundqvist and a second round pick. Walman overcame some early injury issues with the Blues and became the Red Wings’ go-to defense partner to rising defenseman Moritz Seider over the next couple seasons before being dealt in what is unquestionably Yzerman's worst move as general manager.
When the team struggled to find its footing a year later, Yzerman fetched first round picks for Filip Hronek and Tyler Bertuzzi, who both profile as nice support pieces, but hardly top line or top pairing talents. The Bertuzzi trade return formed the centerpiece of Yzerman’s biggest swing move in his tenure.
Yzerman’s Moritz Seider pick looks better each year
The Yzerplan surprised draft experts at the outset in his regime’s first draft when he took Moritz Seider with the sixth overall pick. That pick has proven to be his best thus far. Seider has never missed an NHL game since stepping into the league in the 2021-22 season, won a Calder Trophy that year, has two 50-60 point seasons and consistently plays the toughest minutes in the NHL.
With Seider also locked up for the next five seasons at $8.55 million a year (more on that later), the next Detroit GM knows they have a bolt on elite defenseman for years to come as they try to fix the team’s performance and get it back to the playoffs.
Seider also showed another gear this past season, notching a career-high 60 points and finishing fifth in Norris Trophy voting.
Yzerman acquired Alex DeBrincat as an elite goal scorer
This move may be considered cheating when judging Yzerman’s better plays as Red Wings’ general manager. After an inconsistent season in Ottawa, DeBrincat made it clear that he wouldn’t re-sign with the Senators and forced a trade to his hometown Red Wings. Debrincat has scored 107 goals and 222 points in 246 games for the Winged Wheel, averaging 40 goals in the past two seasons while the futures dealt for him (first round pick that became Dean LeTourneau, Donovan Sebrango, Dominik Kubalik, and a fourth round pick) haven’t amounted to much.
Beyond the individual impact of DeBrincat, his presence and relationship to Patrick Kane made Detroit a destination for the veteran forward to showcase his successful recovery from hip surgery, that gave the Red Wings another offensive threat who posted 163 points in 189 games in Detroit.
While present day Alex DeBrincat may turn out to be trade fodder for a new general manager’s rebuild, his presence, production and acquisition cost are a feather in Yzerman’s cap.
Yzerman locked up Detroit’s core before salary cap increases
With the NHL salary cap rising the past two offseasons, with one more scheduled increase next summer, we are already seeing teams throwing a lot of money around. Leo Carlsson signed an offer sheet with Philadelphia (that Anaheim matched) for $18 million, making him the highest paid player in the NHL despite one season above 45 points (67 in 70 games last season). Connor Bedard just inked a $15 million per year contract after three NHL seasons, despite only becoming a point per game player last season in his third campaign.
In that context, whoever becomes Detroit’s next general manager is already in a good spot thanks to Yzerman getting long-term contracts done with Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider (and Dylan Larkin if Yzerman stepping down changes the temperature with that relationship).
Here are the remaining term and cap hits on three of Detroit’s most prominent players:
- Lucas Raymond (6 years/$8.075 million)
- Moritz Seider (5 years/$8.55 million)
- Dylan Larkin (5 years/$8.7 million)
Those are three genuine first line/first pairing players with cap hits under $9 million per year in a league that is about to treat any similar player as worth a minimum of $12 million annually. Raymond has recorded 72-80 points in three-straight seasons, Seider has won a Calder Trophy and finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting this past season and Larkin has netted 30 goals in five-straight seasons while providing strong two-way play.
An honorable mention for Yzerman’s tenure also goes to the perception of the team’s farm system, which The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranks fourth among all teams.
Whether those players work out in the NHL remains to be seen, but it theoretically puts the team in position for a new general manager to either promote NHL-ready talent to the team or make trades to acquire impact talent.
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