Steve Yzerman is not a good GM.

[GMR]

The OP pretends Yzerman was never in Tampa. He hasn't been great in Detroit, but he hasn't been poor either. Some good moves and some bad moves. Little draft luck but he's made solid picks even in years where they didn't land a top 3 pick.

 

[MTL Dirty Birdy]

I mean that team already had a 1st overall (MacKinnon) and 2nd overall (Landeskog) and Rantanan (10th overall) on the roster, all under 25 to build around. Yzerman’s best player was Larkin, who isn’t even in the same conversation as those guys. The highest drafted player on the roster he inherited was Zadina at 6th overall who was already trending into bust territory. Nobody else on that team was picked higher than Larkin at 15. People really don’t get how dreadfully barren the roster he took over was.

A poster above showed the roster and prospect pool at the time Stevie Y took over and my God is it cringe

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Pittsburgh had a generational player in Crosby and Malkin. Colorado has another elite player in Mack/Rantanen/Makar. Detroit has no talent on the calibre of any of those guys.

Look at that 2018 Vegas roster who was their Superstar?

That team went to the finals.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

Pittsburgh had a generational player in Crosby and Malkin. Colorado has another elite player in Mack/Rantanen/Makar. Detroit has no talent on the calibre of any of those guys.

Pittsburgh also had both of them when the total number of elite players in the NHL could be counted on one hand.

And Seider is a pretty good start. No, he's not Makar level, but I could easily see Hedman level once he's a finished product. Raymond also has potential to be really good. The rest still probably need a couple more years before we can say anything for certain.

 

[12ozPapa]

It's factually true, nobody else will say it because It's Yzerman but it is the reality of the situation.

The man has been GM in Detroit since April 19 2019, and in that time the team has played in a grand total of 0 playoff games and let's be honest they don't look they are making it next year either, in fact they look like they took a step back.

Other than possibly replacing Perron with Tarasenko NOTHING Yzerman did this off season was good.

Trading Wallman and a 2nd literally for free, and then not replacing him was an awful choice.

Signing Jack Campbell and Cam Talbot was an awful choice because all it does is create a logjam in net, and yeah I know Campbell is probably going to be in the AHL but that still leaves you with 3 goaltenders that all expect NHL minutes and you can't give NHL minutes to 3 goalies that all know they are at least backups at this point.

Yeah there is a couple good draft picks in there and I know people will point that out but again those picks have led to 0 playoff games.

If it were any other GM in any other city, in any other sport and that GM missed the playoffs for 5 straight years that GM would get fired.

But It's Yzerman and Detroit so it won't happen but his track record is his track record he's missed the playoffs for 5 straight years, the team has missed the playoffs for 8 straight years, their goaltending is a mess, their defense is an overall mess, their forwards are OK.

If this team misses the playoffs again and they look like they it will be their 9th straight year and Yzerman 6th.

At what point do you stop living in denial and admit Yzerman has done a shit job?

How are your Leafs sir?

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

Look at that 2018 Vegas roster who was their Superstar?

That team went to the finals.

Vegas benefited from new expansion draft rules, which let them built a team that had basically a low end 1st line, 2 2nd lines and a 3rd line, with some good young defensemen and that depth was able to swarm teams. And MAF played pretty well all year too.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Stupid thread.

Detroit barely missed the playoffs.

 

[Zarzh]

Yzerman is perhaps the worst evaluator of talent in the NHL, whenever he's given options he picks the worst possible one.

I don't count players like Point or Kucherov who put up monster stats for where they're picked to be choices as those picks are more luck, Vasi you could make a case for too. Seider was his best choice, and it was partially Holland's too.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

The OP pretends Yzerman was never in Tampa. He hasn't been great in Detroit, but he hasn't been poor either. Some good moves and some bad moves. Little draft luck but he's made solid picks even in years where they didn't land a top 3 pick.

Posters pretend Yzerman was responsible for the Lightning core.

It's Al Murray. Yzerman has never been a good GM, Brisebois isn't a good GM.

Al Murray drafted the core and the best thing Yzerman and Brisebois did was keeping their prospects without messing up their development and trade them away too early.

The Lightning won the cups on the backs of Vasilevsky, Hedman, Stamkos, Kucherov, Point, Palat, Killorn, ect.

Yzerman has made it perfectly clear in Detroit that drafting isn't his strength

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

How are your Leafs sir?

I mean I guess we will find out.

I'm not sure what point you think you have though because the GM and coach that were running the Leafs for 5 years have been fired because that tends to be what happens when you fail for 5 years.

Unless you are Steve Yzerman and you are GM in Detroit.

Like I said I don't know if It's going to work under Treliving and Berube that remains to be seen.

But I know it didn't work under Dubas and Keefe and they got fired and rightly so.

But for as little as they accomplished, Yzerman has accomplished even less in Detroit.

But he's GM in Detroit So his job is safe.

Stupid thread.

Detroit barely missed the playoffs.

It's not about just last year

 

[ChicagoBlues]

It's not about just last year

That makes no sense. It's about progress.

So whatever dude.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Bold statement. Team doesn't win cup without 5 best players.

Bold statement, Yzerman benefitted greatly from inheriting stamkos and Hedman and fluked out on drafting 3 stars with late picks. Hes an average GM.

 

[12ozPapa]

I mean I guess we will find out.

I'm not sure what point you think you have though because the GM and coach that were running the Leafs for 5 years have been fired because that tends to be what happens when you fail for 5 years.

Unless you are Steve Yzerman and you are GM in Detroit.

Like I said I don't know if It's going to work under Treliving and Berube that remains to be seen.

But I know it didn't work under Dubas and Keefe and they got fired and rightly so.

But for as little as they accomplished, Yzerman has accomplished even less in Detroit.

But he's GM in Detroit So his job is safe.



It's not about just last year

My point is the Leafs suck and will never win a Cup with that core. You created this thread to help you sleep at night. I’d put money on the Wings winning the Cup before the Leafs.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

My point is the Leafs suck and will never win a Cup with that core. You created this thread to help you sleep at night. I’d put money on the Wings winning the Cup before the Leafs.

Nah I created the thread because I'm legitimately curious how much longer Yzerman can miss the playoffs before people realize he's not good at his job.

 

[Our Lady Peace]

Reason why Red Wings fans get testy regarding the "Yzerplan", is precisely these thread titles and the OP attempting to dissecting it. Comparing apples to oranges when talking about his tenure with Tampa versus now with Detroit and how he's taking "too long" lacks so much nuance. I didn't know there was a hard timeline for what a successful rebuild entails... Completely different scenarios and nearly a decade apart from one another

...Also to that point can we curb the ridiculous notion that he should be drafting Kucherov and Point again in the 2nd and 3rd rounds respectively? The draft and international scouting landscape has changed completely in the last 10-15 years and it gets harder and harder to find elite talent outside of the 1st round

Yzerman during his tenure in Detroit is absolutely not without criticism. Every Wings fan and their dog knows that...

Thank you to the reasonable neutral fans and their takes in this thread lol. He has done neither a definitive great or terrible job yet, because the product is clearly not finished. He had to totally bottom out 1 year into his GM tenure. 4 years later they look pretty good but there's obviously still work to be done

I for one am quite optimistic about the outlook of this team, particularly due to the drafting and immediate progress that all the 1st round picks have shown in their D+1's

 

[FMichael]

As a fan of Detroit my only criticism of Yzerman is his choice of head coach…

 

[FissionFire]

Yzerman is perhaps the worst evaluator of talent in the NHL, whenever he's given options he picks the worst possible one.

I don't count players like Point or Kucherov who put up monster stats for where they're picked to be choices as those picks are more luck, Vasi you could make a case for too. Seider was his best choice, and it was partially Holland's too.

Are you new to hockey? Seider was viewed as a big reach where he was drafted. I don’t think anyone predicted him to go in the top 10.

 

[T REX]

If it wasn't luck that he was able to draft a HOF Conn Smythe and multiple art ross winner with his second pick, third round in 2011, a HOF, conn smythe and vezina winner with his second pick in the first round in 2012 and an all star 50 goal scorer with his fourth selection, third round in 2014 that skill should have surface since in the past decade, yes?

Vasi, Kuch and Point were drafted at 19, 58 and 79 respectively. Yzerman has picked earlier than 19 every single year since he joined the Wings. Where are the superstars?

Yeah he drafted a good supporting cast but without those three fluke picks there would be no cups in tampa.

THREE flukes?

That statement is contradictory. Palat? Tyler Johnson? So many flukes.

SMDH

 

[Albatros]

Yzerman is perhaps the worst evaluator of talent in the NHL, whenever he's given options he picks the worst possible one.

Ya, should have followed the conventional wisdom and taken Zegras or Podkolzin over Seider and Drysdale or Perfetti over Raymond.

 

[sabremike]

As a fan of Detroit my only criticism of Yzerman is his choice of head coach…

View attachment 901685

If you want to knock Stevie Y as a GM the fact he didn't sack the comically in over his head Jeff Blashill after one season is honestly your single best argument.

 

[T REX]

Look at that 2018 Vegas roster who was their Superstar?

That team went to the finals.

This is a complete misrepresentation of how Vegas acquired their talent and catalog of draft picks.

This is a dishonest argument. Be better.

 

[Fledgemyhedge]

THREE flukes?

That statement is contradictory. Palat? Tyler Johnson? So many flukes.

SMDH

drafting legitimate superstars that late is 100% a fluke

 

[Fledgemyhedge]

Outside of the 1st round Yzermans Detroit picks have a grand total of 21 games and that player didn’t even see NHL ice last year. To suggest there is no luck in kucherov, point etc in his Tampa days is mind boggling

Not to fully discredit because he’s done well in the 1st but let’s see drafting for what it really is after 30 picks. A crapshoot

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Nah I created the thread because I'm legitimately curious how much longer Yzerman can miss the playoffs before people realize he's not good at his job.

Look at the number of standing points the Wings had in his first year as GM. Now look at the standings points each year up to this past season when they missed the playoffs by a point.

If it helps you, you could draw a line and literally connect the dots.

 

[Zarzh]

Are you new to hockey? Seider was viewed as a big reach where he was drafted. I don’t think anyone predicted him to go in the top 10.

I swear most of you guys don't even read basic articles or interviews.