Summary
Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings in 2019 with a reputation for building winning teams. After seven years as the general manager, the team has yet to make the playoffs, and fans are starting to wonder if his plan is working. While he has made some smart trades and drafted talented young players, his expensive signings of older players have hurt the team's progress. This article looks at why the "Yzerman Plan" has struggled to bring success back to Detroit.
Main Impact
The biggest problem for the Red Wings is that they are stuck in the middle of the standings. They are not bad enough to get the best draft picks, but they are not good enough to make the playoffs. This "no-man's land" is largely due to how the team has spent its money. By giving long, expensive contracts to veteran players who are past their prime, the team has limited its ability to get better. This has resulted in a decade-long playoff drought that shows no clear sign of ending soon.
Key Details
What Happened
When Yzerman first arrived, he focused on trading away older players for draft picks and young talent. These early moves were very successful. He traded Anthony Mantha to Washington for Jakub Vrana and two high draft picks. He also traded Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Hronek for first-round picks. These moves gave Detroit the assets they needed to build a new core. He used these picks to find stars like Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, who are now the faces of the team.
However, the plan started to fail when Yzerman tried to speed up the process. He began signing veteran free agents to help the young players. Unfortunately, many of these veterans have not played well. Instead of helping the team win, these players have taken up a lot of space under the salary cap while providing very little on the ice. This has created a roster that is slow and lacks the depth needed to compete in a tough Eastern Conference.
Important Numbers and Facts
Several specific contracts have hurt the team's finances and performance. In 2022, Yzerman signed defenseman Ben Chiarot to a four-year deal worth $4.75 million per year. He also signed forward Andrew Copp to a five-year deal worth over $5.6 million annually. Both players have struggled to live up to those high prices. Another major mistake was signing Justin Holl to a three-year, $10.2 million contract. Holl played so poorly that the team had to trade him away just to get his salary off the books.
The most confusing move involved defenseman Jake Walman. Detroit traded Walman and a second-round draft pick to San Jose just to get rid of his contract. Less than a year later, San Jose traded Walman to Edmonton for a first-round pick. This means Detroit paid a price to lose a player that other teams actually valued highly. This sequence of events suggests that the team's scouts may not be evaluating talent correctly.
Background and Context
To understand why people are disappointed, you have to look at Yzerman's history. Before coming to Detroit, he was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He built that team into a powerhouse that won multiple Stanley Cups. Because he was a legendary player for Detroit and a successful manager in Tampa, fans expected him to fix the Red Wings quickly. The "rebuild" has now lasted seven years, which is longer than most fans expected. Other teams like Washington and Pittsburgh, who did not even try to rebuild, are currently performing better than Detroit.
Public or Industry Reaction
Hockey experts and fans are becoming more vocal about their frustrations. While Yzerman is still respected for his drafting, many critics point out that his "pro scouting"—the ability to evaluate players already in the NHL—has been poor. The reaction from the fan base is a mix of loyalty and confusion. Many still want to trust "The Captain," but the lack of playoff hockey in Detroit for ten straight years is making that trust harder to maintain. The team often starts the season well but collapses in the final months, which suggests the roster lacks the stamina or leadership needed for a full season.
What This Means Going Forward
The Red Wings are now at a crossroads. They have a few great young players, but they are weighed down by bad contracts for older players. Going forward, Yzerman must find a way to fix the defense. The current group of veteran defenders is slow and often makes mistakes that lead to goals. If the team cannot improve its defense and find more scoring depth, they will likely miss the playoffs again next year. The pressure is on Yzerman to prove that his plan can actually result in a winning team before the owners decide to make a change in leadership.
Final Take
Building a winning team through the draft is only half the battle. A general manager must also make smart choices when signing free agents and making trades for veteran players. Steve Yzerman has done a great job finding young stars, but his poor decisions with older players have cancelled out those gains. For the Red Wings to move forward, the front office needs to stop overpaying for average talent and start making moves that actually improve the team's speed and skill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the "Yzerman Plan" considered a failure by some?
It is considered a failure because the team has not made the playoffs in the seven years since Yzerman took over. Despite having high draft picks, the team continues to finish near the bottom of the standings due to poor free-agent signings.
Which players are considered the core of the Red Wings?
The core players drafted or signed by Yzerman include captain Dylan Larkin, defenseman Moritz Seider, and forward Lucas Raymond. These three are the players the team hopes to build around for the future.
What was the biggest mistake Yzerman made?
Many experts point to the team's defense as the biggest mistake. Yzerman traded away good, young defenders like Filip Hronek and Jake Walman and replaced them with older, slower veterans like Ben Chiarot and Justin Holl on expensive contracts.
