Why not trade picks and prospects for players that can actually help the team now, not five years from now when the other guys drafted years ago are either gone or void of any playoff experience?
The wings are gonna become the sabres stuck in a perpetual rebuild, holding on to youth when the only way out of suckness is to actually surround a young core with players already established and broken out.
Trading Hronek was dumb since the guy you drafted with the pick likely never becomes as good and even if he does thats still 3+ years from now.
Wings fans make excuses for Stevie and his shitty UFA signings, calling them stop gaps. Why not sign or trade for actual good players that can help now and in the future.
Any team that had the tentpole pieces and wings fans say they do, it's at that point you proceed to the next step which isn't relying on the draft, it's uses accumulated picks and prospects to aquire players just entering their prime, or savvy vets.
1/ The Wings aren’t in a
“perpetual rebuild.” They’re in a
strategic one.
There’s a difference between flailing with no plan (hi Sabres), and building methodically under a GM who literally constructed a dynasty in Tampa.
2/
“Trade picks and prospects for players who help NOW!”
Cool, but
who’s our core right now? The Wings are fighting for a wildcard. You don’t go all-in unless the window is open — otherwise you waste assets and get stuck in the middle forever (see: 2010s Flyers/Sharks).
3/
“The Hronek trade was dumb”
Was it? He had a career year, and Yzerman flipped him for a 1st & 2nd. That’s textbook asset management.
He was about to get paid, and his defense was mid at best. Vancouver’s already seeing the inconsistency.
4/
“But what if the guy we draft never becomes as good?”
That’s the gamble. But you need lottery tickets to build a real contender. You don’t win Cups with
just middle-pairing defensemen and grit grinders. You win with elite, homegrown talent on ELCs.
5/
“Yzerman makes shitty UFA signings”
No. He makes
short-term, cap-friendly signings to bridge the gap and insulate the youth. Not every deal is about getting a 30-goal scorer. Some are about culture, depth, and locker room stability.
6/
“They’re becoming the Sabres”
Sabres rushed Eichel, Reinhart, Dahlin into a mess of a franchise with no stability or support.
Detroit is
not doing that. They’re letting guys develop
properly (Seider, Raymond, Edvinsson, Danielson, ASP, etc.).
7/
“You need to move picks to get guys in their prime!”
We
did. DeBrincat ring a bell?
Yzerman’s not afraid to make big moves. He just knows the timing matters. You don’t go all-in
before the core matures — you go in
when it’s ready.
8/ Patience isn’t weakness. It’s part of the blueprint.
Look at the Wings pipeline. Look at the trajectory. Then look at teams who
didn’t do it right.
The pain now leads to sustained success later.
9/ When this team is ready to go, Yzerman
will make the big swing. But he’s not lighting the future on fire for a wildcard push. That’s how you end up in rebuild 2.0 five years later.
10/ The Red Wings aren’t stuck.
They’re simmering.
And when the time is right, they’re gonna boil over.