Yzerman had two legit assets the day he was hired:
Senators with the whole DeBrincat/Chychrun thing coupled with drafting Boucher, Thomson, Jbd still worked out.
If so, then Yzerman is handicapping himself for no reason. I don't know how this could possibly be argued to be the correct course of action. Why would you not use every tool at your disposal to improve your roster long-term? There's zero excuse to not be proactive as a GM.
Like I've said, I have my criticisms of Yzerman, but this idea he was going to take some magic beans left behind by Ken Holland and turn them into a competitive team is embarrassing.
The problem is you want it both ways. On the one hand, six years of missed postseasons is fine and the cupboard was totally bare. On the other, they couldn’t full bottom out for more than a year because Larkin and Seider win a bunch of games by themselves and they need vets to teach them how to play competitive hockey. I’m all for the multi year tank when a situation calls for it but that’s not what Yzerman did despite the situation as you presented it calling for that. Rather it seems like he rode the late Holland picks out to their natural end and then shrugged shoulders and has continued to hope the next batch are better. It’s the ultimate in passive GM-ing.
Your analysis is basically DETROIT BAD. Maybe just stick with that as it's fewer words?? No offense intended, but most of what you posted is just word salad.
The Wizard Staois turned that BS return for Debrincat into Ullmark though, how many times is that going to happen for teams?
If you can’t refute it, no need to rely on insults. You don’t have to reply just to do so. Just my two cents.
Dude, this isn't about the players, it is about the 3 1st rounders, 4 second rounders and a 4 th that he got for those players. That gave him a start on the rebuild, and it was courtesy of KH. How good those players actually were/are is immaterial. What I am saying is they fetched SY those draft choices and helped the rebuild. Don't know why this is so hard for you.
And those assets he got back from those trades aren’t helping the team until next season or later… so shouldn’t that be when things start to get evaluated ?
Could be, I am just making a point that SY had significant picks from the Holland era players he dealt. Not judging what he did with them, it remains to be determined. I am just challenging the concept that he started with NOTHING when he took over. I'd argue he did well to get what he got in terms of picks in the trades he made. But he started with an extra 3-1sts, 4-2nds and a 4th from KH cast offs. While maybe not alot, there was initially some assets present when SY took over. Many SY defenders claim there wasn't.
He started with nothing in the sense that outside of Larkin as a borderline 1c and a top 4 D in Hronek there were zero pieces that would actually help them win. Yzerman did a great job getting value out of the middling pieces he had, but those were draft picks who were always going to take years to help the Wings, so it didn’t help “speed up the rebuild”, it just gave him pieces to help them when they’re ready to actually contend
It was his choice. He could have traded them for players instead of picks. Again my point is that he had assets which helped get them to where they are at now. He didn't conjure this prospect pool on his own, KH helped him get there with the picks they got. That Athanasiou, Mantha and Bert haven't been much since is immaterial, they were better regarded back then and delivered substantial draft capital.
He’s going to trade average at best pieces for more average at best pieces? THAT was going to get the Wings back into the post season?
I mean day one he said it was going to be a long rebuild, so I think my reaction would've been oh that sucks. But I can see it.
LOL, turned water into wine. Were you the slightest bit familiar with the Bolts when he arrived? He had these little known players no one had heard of. One was a Canadian center named Steven Stamkos. The other was a European weakling d-man called Victor Hedman. He also had two unheard of players named Martin St Louis and Vincent LeCavalier who, against all odds, put up 31 and 25 goals respectively in that first season in Tampa.
5-7 is a crazy number. There are two maybe three people that defend Yzerman incessantly and the rest of us have repeatedly conceded that he's not been a great GM overall, and that his pro scouting especially has been near league-worst. You just choose to ignore those and focus on the few outliers.
The draft doesn't stop after round one. He's a great first round drafter right now and all seem promising.
Sure, it could definitely be better, and I've commented on our poor 2nd round drafting elsewhere on this site. But there are very few teams in the NHL that have overall obtained more talent from the draft from 2019-present (please name them if you have any in mind). The first round drafting hasn't just been good, its' been lights out - there are zero misses from 2019-2022 (23 and 24 TBD) and every one of those players looks so far to go 2-5 in a redraft. That is very, very good top end drafting.
That blues offer sheet was a masterclass. They are on a 11 game heater and got the wildcard with games to spare (most likely scenario so not concrete).
Agree with everything you've said. I'm still holding out hope that Yzerman has it in him to make those shrewd moves since he did make them in Tampa (Sergachev trade, McDonagh trade, Conacher --> Bishop --> Cernak trade, identifying and signing Yanni Gourde + Tyler Johnson. Lots of really great moves outside of the draft that built the reputation that we pinned our hopes on as Wings fans that he's yet to do here. Here's hoping lol.
