It's been a slow process since Steve Yzerman was hired as the GM of the Detroit Red Wings. Fans have been patient. Told to "Trust the Yzerplan." Yzerman's track record speaks for itself, having built the Tampa Bay Lightning into an annual Stanley Cup contender. Though Yzerman was gone when the Lightning were winning consecutive Stanley Cups, it was largely the team that be built that got the job done.
Here in Detroit, the progress has been slow, but definitely noticible. Last season, the Red Wings finished 32-40-10, missing the playoffs for the 6th consecutive year. But, there is hope that this season may be the one that ends that drought.
Last season, the Red Wings saw a pair of Yzerman draft picks prosper in their rookie season. Defensman Moritz Seider won the Calder trophy as the NHL's best rookie, scoring 7 goals and 43 assists. Lucas Raymond wasn't supposed to make the Red Wings roster last season, but he had an outstanding preseason, and forced his way on the roster. He then produced 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points, 3rd on the team. Raymond finished 4th in the Calder voting.
The first order of business was who would coach the team. Jeff Blashill who had coached the team the previous 7 seasons, was fired after the 2021-22 season.
Yzerman hired Tampa Bay assistant coach Derek Lalonde, to be the Red Wing's 28th head coach in franchise history.
Yzerman entered the 2022 off season with a lot of cap room to play with, and lots of areas to improve. He wasted no time in doing so. Yzerman acquired goaltender Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2022 3rd round draft pick, in what most analysts view as a steal for Detroit. Husso will pair with Alex Nedeljkovic to form a very good goaltending tandem in Detroit. Husso was 25-7-6 with a 2.56 GAA and .916 SV PCT with the Blues.
Yzerman then turned his attention to Free Agency. With the cap space at hand, Yzerman brought in center Andrew Copp, Wingers David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik, and defensmen Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, and Mark Pysyk, and Robert Hagg.
Copp’s five-year contract with an AAV of $5.625 million was great value for a well-rounded player with recent playoff experience. On top of that, he is coming off of his best NHL season thus far, with 21 goals and 32 assists through 72 games between the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers. Copp filling the second-line center role immediately strengthens the Red Wings’ offense and gives the coaches a little more to work with in terms of line combinations. The penalty kill is one of his bigger strengths in addition to the power play, and the Red Wings need these areas to be stronger, so Copp will be great for filling this need.
During the 2021-22 season, Perron had 27 goals and 30 assists for a total of 57 points through 67 games. On top of that, he was tied for third in goals on the Blues alongside Jordan Kyrou and led the team in power-play goals with 11. His production was not limited to the regular season as the Blues appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs where he had 13 points through 12 games with nine of those being goals. Adding a consistent point producer like him is exactly what this team needed, and Yzerman got his guy for great value.
Other additions include defensemen Olli Määttä and Mark Pysyk, and left wing Dominik Kubalik. Määttä signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract after finishing up his season and playoff run with the Kings. He will likely be slotted into the second defensive pairing alongside Filip Hronek to start the season. Pysyk is coming to Detroit from the Buffalo Sabres on a one-year, $850,000 contract. It will be a while until we know where he will end up in the lines due to injury, but he will likely be circulating around the third pairing. Kubalik is going into his fourth NHL season and is probably going to be on the third line for the Red Wings. He was one of four acquisitions on the first day of free agency and signed a two-year, $5 million AAV contract.
The Red Wings will aslo get a full season (hopefully) from Jakub Vrana. Vrana, acquired during the 2020-21 season, has scored 21 goals in just 37 games with the Red Wings. Injuries limited him to 26 games last season, but scored 13 goals.
Dylan Larkin continues to develop into an excellent NHL player. Larkin scored 31 goals and 38 assists in 71 games last season. It was the second time Larkin topped 30 goals in a season.
Tyler Bertuzzi also scored 30 goals last season, including 4 in the opener against Tampa Bay last season.
Both Bertuzzi and Larkin are unrestricted free agents at season's end. Both have expressed a desire to remain with the team, though Larkin will be the priority.
The Wings are in a stacked division, and stacked conference. There are probably at least 4 better teams in the division, so making the playoffs will be a tall task. But, this team should be much improved. Who knows what could happen over the course of the 82 game NHL season.
Anything can happen.
Here in Detroit, the progress has been slow, but definitely noticible. Last season, the Red Wings finished 32-40-10, missing the playoffs for the 6th consecutive year. But, there is hope that this season may be the one that ends that drought.
Last season, the Red Wings saw a pair of Yzerman draft picks prosper in their rookie season. Defensman Moritz Seider won the Calder trophy as the NHL's best rookie, scoring 7 goals and 43 assists. Lucas Raymond wasn't supposed to make the Red Wings roster last season, but he had an outstanding preseason, and forced his way on the roster. He then produced 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points, 3rd on the team. Raymond finished 4th in the Calder voting.
The first order of business was who would coach the team. Jeff Blashill who had coached the team the previous 7 seasons, was fired after the 2021-22 season.
Yzerman hired Tampa Bay assistant coach Derek Lalonde, to be the Red Wing's 28th head coach in franchise history.
Yzerman entered the 2022 off season with a lot of cap room to play with, and lots of areas to improve. He wasted no time in doing so. Yzerman acquired goaltender Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2022 3rd round draft pick, in what most analysts view as a steal for Detroit. Husso will pair with Alex Nedeljkovic to form a very good goaltending tandem in Detroit. Husso was 25-7-6 with a 2.56 GAA and .916 SV PCT with the Blues.
Yzerman then turned his attention to Free Agency. With the cap space at hand, Yzerman brought in center Andrew Copp, Wingers David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik, and defensmen Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, and Mark Pysyk, and Robert Hagg.
Copp’s five-year contract with an AAV of $5.625 million was great value for a well-rounded player with recent playoff experience. On top of that, he is coming off of his best NHL season thus far, with 21 goals and 32 assists through 72 games between the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers. Copp filling the second-line center role immediately strengthens the Red Wings’ offense and gives the coaches a little more to work with in terms of line combinations. The penalty kill is one of his bigger strengths in addition to the power play, and the Red Wings need these areas to be stronger, so Copp will be great for filling this need.
During the 2021-22 season, Perron had 27 goals and 30 assists for a total of 57 points through 67 games. On top of that, he was tied for third in goals on the Blues alongside Jordan Kyrou and led the team in power-play goals with 11. His production was not limited to the regular season as the Blues appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs where he had 13 points through 12 games with nine of those being goals. Adding a consistent point producer like him is exactly what this team needed, and Yzerman got his guy for great value.
Other additions include defensemen Olli Määttä and Mark Pysyk, and left wing Dominik Kubalik. Määttä signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract after finishing up his season and playoff run with the Kings. He will likely be slotted into the second defensive pairing alongside Filip Hronek to start the season. Pysyk is coming to Detroit from the Buffalo Sabres on a one-year, $850,000 contract. It will be a while until we know where he will end up in the lines due to injury, but he will likely be circulating around the third pairing. Kubalik is going into his fourth NHL season and is probably going to be on the third line for the Red Wings. He was one of four acquisitions on the first day of free agency and signed a two-year, $5 million AAV contract.
The Red Wings will aslo get a full season (hopefully) from Jakub Vrana. Vrana, acquired during the 2020-21 season, has scored 21 goals in just 37 games with the Red Wings. Injuries limited him to 26 games last season, but scored 13 goals.
Dylan Larkin continues to develop into an excellent NHL player. Larkin scored 31 goals and 38 assists in 71 games last season. It was the second time Larkin topped 30 goals in a season.
Tyler Bertuzzi also scored 30 goals last season, including 4 in the opener against Tampa Bay last season.
Both Bertuzzi and Larkin are unrestricted free agents at season's end. Both have expressed a desire to remain with the team, though Larkin will be the priority.
The Wings are in a stacked division, and stacked conference. There are probably at least 4 better teams in the division, so making the playoffs will be a tall task. But, this team should be much improved. Who knows what could happen over the course of the 82 game NHL season.
Anything can happen.
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