So i have to do his job to prove he is doing his job lower than we all expected? If I could tell you who we should have gotten wouldn't that make him look even worse? I have a question for you, are you pleased where we are almost 6 years after he was hired?
I've seen you mention Kaprizov in another comment. If your standpoint is that Yzerman failed because he didn't scoop up the type of player that can't be predicted and comes around once in a blue moon then you're just living in La La Land. Kaprizov went in the 5th round because 30 different teams passed on him 4-5 times before someone finally took out a flyer on him.
Nobody had any idea he'd turn into that kind of player, otherwise he'd have been picked much sooner. And that goes for any player picked in late rounds who became a superstar.
But that's beside the point, Kaprizov was drafted before Yzerman came back to the Wings. The claim you're making is that Yzerman has failed at his rebuild of the Red Wings. So what superstar has he missed out on while GM of the Red Wings?
And to answer your question, yes I'm very pleased. Y'all are some impatient ma'fcks. He explicitly said when he came aboard that this was a long term project, up to 10 years. We're 5 years in now, have improved every year, have had some great drafting success with the most important picks, and are on the cusp of having one of the best defence corps in the league. With what Mo is now (and can still improve on), what Edvinsson appears to be, and what ASP is trending to become, this D corps will be anchored by 3 absolute studs within a couple years. You fill in the gaps with even average talent, and that is a great foundation to build a team around. We already have several players who could fill those gaps in Johansson, Buium, Wallinder, Tuomisto, etc. Then you add Cossa and Augustine, who are both looking great, and consider they will be benefitting playing behind that defence too. The offence needs someone to claim that 2C spot, and there's a decent chance one of Kasper or Danielson can achieve that.
And I'd even disagree that he hasn't found a superstar winger, I think Raymond is one. And he was ranked around the 6-7 range prior to the draft so Yzerman seemingly "reached" a little at 4th OA, only for Raymond to so far be looking like a top 1-2 pick in that draft. Not to mention Seider was also considered a relatively big reach at #6 when he was projected around late teens iirc, only to almost immediately show he was going to be a force in short order.
People need to just chill and be patient. Half of his rebuild isn't even on the team yet, and we're talking about some potential big time players here. If this team is already a bubble team as is, what's it going to look like when ASP is added? Cossa? Danielson, MBN, Augustine? And there's another dozen prospects who could develop to contribute in some way too. This team has a tremendous amount of potential and the future looks bright, I'm not going to stress over early struggles. The foundation for success is being built and getting stronger every year. I'm just letting the process play itself out and enjoying the regular influx of high quality young talent (and occasionally high quality old talent like Kane).
