Most of the Red Wings’ press corps weighed in regarding GM Steve Yzerman’s press conference on Thursday, well, on Thursday, but this morning, the Free Press’s Helene St. James has posted two articles discussing the GM’s remarks.
First, St. James addresses Yzerman’s remarks regarding the team’s outlook in general..
It has been a busy week — another busy week — for Yzerman, who had a plan heading into the start of free agency, changed course out of necessity, and emerged with a roster that begged the question: Does Yzerman feel pressure to make the playoffs?
“Yeah, a little bit, honestly,” Yzerman said. “Our fanbase wants to win. We came close last year to making the playoffs. The finish of our season was very dramatic. A little bit maybe misleading — like, we’ve got to really improve in some areas. We’ve got to get deeper.”
Over the past week, the Wings have signed, among others, top-six forwards Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, defenseman Erik Gustafsson, and goaltender Cam Talbot. Yzerman said there was one top free agent the Wings targeted but it became clear as soon as the market opened that it was not realistic to pursue the player, given the fiscal maneuvering it would have taken to make a competitive offer. (Yzerman didn’t name names, but odds favor Steven Stamkos, given their shared history with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and because Stamkos is a top-line center. Stamkos got four years at an average annual value of $8 million from the Nashville Predators.)
“We had certain objectives at the opening of free agency that we hoped to accomplish and address,” Yzerman said. “We adjusted, or pivoted, and were able to bring in some players to replace some of the players we couldn’t bring back and address some areas of maybe weakness or concern with the players we brought in.”
St. James also discusses the shape of the Red Wings’ revised blueline…
“We had to make some changes,” the Wings general manager said Thursday. “We couldn’t afford to keep all of that same D corps. When the season ended, our last couple games, we had $6.8 million on defense sitting in the stands. We can’t do that this year with our young players contracts coming up. So we had to make some changes.”
Out went Walman, to the San Jose Sharks, even as it also cost a second-round pick (Tampa Bay’s, acquired from Nashville in a prospect swap) to make the deal work. The next to go was Shayne Gostisbehere, via free agency. Yzerman tried to keep Gostisbehere, whose power play prowess (a team-leading 29 points) ameliorated his defensive struggles, but the Carolina Hurricanes offered Gostisbehere three years at $3.2 million per season, and that was more term than Yzerman was willing to offer. As with forward David Perron (two years and $8 million from the Ottawa Senators), the Wings had to move on.
“We lost David and Shayne,” Yzerman said. “Both players, we talked with their agents right up until free agency opened. Ultimately, we couldn’t agree on contracts that worked for both sides. So we talked right up until the end and unfortunately we weren’t able to get deals done.”
And Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff discussed the pressure that Yzerman feels to build a winning roster:
“Expectations are raised for some individuals, for our team,” Yzerman acknowledged. “We had 91 points, 41 wins. That’s tough to do and (we) still (didn’t) make the playoffs. We’re probably going to have to get more than 91 points next year to get in. That’ll be a challenge for us.”
Yzerman is vowing two things about his plan for rebuilding the Red Wings back to what they were when he was a player – into an NHL power. Firstly, he’ll never refer to his work as the Yzer-plan.
“Yeah, I really don’t use that term,” he said.
Secondly, short-term ups and downs will never result in him making alterations to his long-term plan for the team.
“Pressure, I guess whatever you want to call it, it’s not going to change what I’m trying to do,” Yzerman said. “It’s the right way to do it. And it’s taken some time. And I can’t tell you it’s five years, seven years, 10 years. I’m just gonna stick with it here. And we’ll keep going. But we would all love to win – me, everyone, our fan base. I understand.”
My best guess is that we’re in year seven of a full ten years which will be necessary to become the kind of team that the Red Wings’ front office wants to build.
