Where did Yzerman go wrong with the rebuild?

[Rzombo4 prez]

Where exactly did Yzerman go wrong since taking over? I thought it would be good to have a centralized location for these discussions. It is very clear that some think we should already be back in the playoffs at this point.

Here is the roster he inherited:

Detroit Red Wings 2018-19 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

The roster, scoring and goaltender statistics for the 2018-19 Detroit Red Wings playing in the NHL.

www.hockeydb.com

Click to read more...

 

[Henkka]

Team has improved every year.

Season 2024-25 - ?? points
Season 2023-24 - 91 points
Season 2022-23 - 80 points
Season 2021-22 - 74 points
Season 2020-21 - 48 points
Season 2019-20 - 39 points

I could argue, that the team direction is right - not wrong.

 

[Konnan511]

This, so far, has been the first offseason I feel we have regressed instead of moving forward.

 

[saska sault]

Team has improved every year.

Season 2024-25 - ?? points
Season 2023-24 - 91 points
Season 2022-23 - 80 points
Season 2021-22 - 74 points
Season 2020-21 - 48 points
Season 2019-20 - 39 points

I could argue, that the team direction is right - not wrong.

Sticky this to the top. Close the topic. Improving every year, regardless of everyone's personal opinion on the roster make up is progress. If the team goes over 91 points, with Petry, Husso, Fabbri, Copp, Holl.. I'll still be a pretty happy fan.

 

[DamonDRW]

Given the bad luck with the lottery he did everything fine. Even last year signings to get to the playoffs as this year's draft was one of the weakest.

 

[Michael Brand Eggs]

I don't think he's gone wrong. It's not perfect, but the rebuild is very much alive and well.

 

[better Red than Dead]

Team has improved every year.

Season 2024-25 - ?? points
Season 2023-24 - 91 points
Season 2022-23 - 80 points
Season 2021-22 - 74 points
Season 2020-21 - 48 points
Season 2019-20 - 39 points

I could argue, that the team direction is right - not wrong.

You can, but a lot of that was the veterans they brought in.

 

[better Red than Dead]

I actually think they have done very good with drafting and developing. I think Yzerman has been decent in trades. I think he’s been awful with free agent signings . You can argue that the last few free agencies were what cost them this free agency. Becisse I’d have rather we signed Stamoks for the 4 years instead of paying Copp for the next few years at his cap hit. Or paying Holl for sitting in the press box.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Where exactly did Yzerman go wrong since taking over? I thought it would be good to have a centralized location for these discussions. It is very clear that some think we should already be back in the playoffs at this point.

Here is the roster he inherited:

Detroit Red Wings 2018-19 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

The roster, scoring and goaltender statistics for the 2018-19 Detroit Red Wings playing in the NHL.

www.hockeydb.com

I follow Detroit pretty closely and as someone who was a fan of Yzerman as a player & then Tampa GM, I would say he's done a pretty good job with the Red Wings rebuild for the most part.

I would say his biggest mistakes are:

- Holl & Copp UFA signings, you can argue Chiarot was a bad signing as well

- Petry trade

- Draper director of amateur scouting/organizational draft strategy to most picks beyond the 1st round (2024 Draft strategy was mostly good though)

- 2024 Trade Deadline inaction (although it's not the worst mistake)

- Walman cap dump trade

 

[izlez]

I don't think he went wrong with the rebuild.

He's rebuilding through the draft. I think that's the right thing to do. That takes time. Draft picks have either been really good, on track to be good, or too early to tell.

I can still criticize individual moves when he pays to trade away what I think are good players or blocks kids that are fully overripened and out of options for further ripening.

 

[Bench]

You can, but a lot of that was the veterans they brought in.

Top defender, Seider. Top winger, Raymond. This last year was their best season in ages. Not simply stopgap veterans leading the way. This team is going to be in the hands of a young group of talented players sooner than later. It's already happening.

Let Yzerman cook.

 

[RRhoads]

Obviously, judging from threads like this one, he failed to tell fans to have patience.

oh wait, he did

nm

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

I think the most important part of the rebuild are your first round draft selections and I think his work there is encouraging. The two major items I’d have liked him to handle differently:

In Seider’s D+2 in Sweden, when it was becoming apparent that he was a pretty unique talent, I think we needed to identify a way to get him a legitimate top 4 LHD as a partner, even if that meant overpaying in FA.

The half-measures in net (Ned, Greiss, Husso, Reimer, arguably Lyon, tbd Talbot) haven’t paid off and that’s made everybody’s job harder.

 

[Axel Sandy Pelikan]

Where exactly did Yzerman go wrong since taking over? I thought it would be good to have a centralized location for these discussions. It is very clear that some think we should already be back in the playoffs at this point.

Here is the roster he inherited:

Detroit Red Wings 2018-19 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com

The roster, scoring and goaltender statistics for the 2018-19 Detroit Red Wings playing in the NHL.

www.hockeydb.com

I don't think we need this. This is a silly topic.

 

[Ricelund]

Let's lock this up and re-open it in 5 years if things don't work out.

 

[eojsmada]

There was always going to be one year where the approach that Yzerman took was going to have some consequences to it, once he started to remove the "training wheels" and started to let the kids play more. The only real significant loss is Perron, because of his ability to retrieve pucks, but its a safety blanket that Lalonde no longer has and will have to be made up for by someone or multiple players. Raymond took a huge step in assuming this role on the PP, but his value is more as the shooter and less as the down low position, so I think they will need to figure out who that player will be.

This being said, the team is not in a bad position, nor moving in the wrong direction

 

[Pavels Dog]

What an open-ended thread title that invites constructive discussion.

 

[ZDH]

Was more unhappy last offseason with Petry, Holl, etc. I'll take this offseason over that any day of the week.

Honestly I don't think it's really gone wrong anywhere. Look at that roster he acquired. Dont know what people were expecting.

Unbelievably bad lottery luck and still building a team through the draft where they are consistently targeting particular player types and and a team identity which has me very excited for the future.

 

[Henkka]

I would say his biggest mistakes are:

- Holl & Copp UFA signings, you can argue Chiarot was a bad signing as well

- Petry trade

- Draper director of amateur scouting/organizational draft strategy to most picks beyond the 1st round (2024 Draft strategy was mostly good though)

- 2024 Trade Deadline inaction (although it's not the worst mistake)

- Walman cap dump trade

Could you also list his best moves?

It's like people seem always inform about the GM mistakes, or player giveaways, but could care less about a good move or play.

 

[RedHawkDown]

I wouldn't say he's "gone wrong with the rebuild" just yet.

But he has made some bad moves, and between the Walman trade and missing out on most FAs, his offseason so far has been quite poor. Holl was a bad signing. Copp was a bad signing. Petry was a bad trade. Fabbri's renewed contract is/was bad. The Husso experiment has been a failure.

Hope is not lost and there is still lots of time for things to go right. But in the last 1-2 years, it's fair to begin to question Yzerman's vision and plan, or at least the execution of said plan.

As far as good moves:
He has drafted very well in the first round every year. Seider was a great pick. Raymond was a great pick. Ed looks like a great pick. Kasper looks like a good pick. Danielson looks like a good pick. Cossa looks like a good/great pick.

A big part of Holland's failure near the end of his tenure in Detroit was messing up the 2016/2017/2018 1st round picks in Cholowski/Ras/Zadina, and Yzerman has been significantly better in that respect. It's easy to hit on top 10 picks, but it's not easy to hit on top 10 picks 5 years in a row. As long as Danielson and Kasper do well, Yzerman has done that. That deserves commendation.

Beyond that, DeBrincat was a good trade, as far as capitalizing on something that fell into our laps.

I don't really think he's made many commendable moves beyond that. Squeezed out some decent value for Mantha, I guess. Compher was an average signing. Kane, I'm still not the biggest fan of, but it's acceptable. That's really all.

 

[ricky0034]

he lost the lottery a few times then got bored and decided to take his ball and go home and try to force things with middling free agents right before a once a decade level draft

the Wings should bare minimum have Michkov right now but they don't and will never get a player of that level until they eventually blow things up and start over

 

[stillwater]

The rebuild is fine. Perhaps the top prospect system in the NHL. Incremental standings improvements every year. Bonafide group of good NHL players.

Never will you find much logical discourse on this forum. Every thread is comparable to a game thread, filled with extreme overreaction.

This thread is started one day in free agency. Its frivolous at best. Downright moronic at worst.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Let's lock this up and re-open it in 5 years if things don't work out.

No, no, no. I am being told in other threads that we should already be back in the playoffs and that Yzerman was grossly negligent in failing to sign any meaningful free agents yesterday and that he has no real plan for the future.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Could you also list his best moves?

It's like people seem always inform about the GM mistakes, or player giveaways, but could care less about a good move or play.

Yzerman's best moves:

- Fabbri for De La Rose trade

- M. Staal & a 2nd for nothing

- 1st, 2nd, Vrana, Panik for Mantha

- 1st & 2nd for Hronek & 4th

- DeBrincat for Kubalik, Sebrango, 1st, and 4th

- Compher, Gostisbehere, & Sprong UFA signings

- Kane UFA signing

- Perron UFA signing

- Kubalik buy low UFA signing

- Seider & Raymond picks (scouts deserve credit as well)

- Edvinsson & Sandin Pellika picks (most likely); (I would argue Eklund & Guenther were slightly better fits than Edvinsson)

 

[lilidk]

This, so far, has been the first offseason I feel we have regressed instead of moving forward.

We need to regress, kids needs to start playing, tree steps forward, on step back.