In which the “Yzerman back to Detroit” topic is discussed again

The Family Guy term “Grinds My Gears” applies to the following “final topic” from Sunday’s SportsWorks round table discussion on Fox 2, in which Bob Wojnowski, Jamie Samuelssen and Dan Miller discussed the following:

The NHL Playoffs were last on the rundown and the guys talked if Tampa Bay’s success helps or hurts the chances of the Red Wings getting Steve Yzerman.

The gents discuss the topic at 12:30 mark of the 14-minute clip, and I’ll re-state my position on the matter:

I believe that Steve Yzerman has built his Tampa Bay Lightning team to win a Stanley Cup, and until/unless his team wins the Stanley Cup, he’s not going to leave the Lightning. Even if Tampa does win the Cup, I don’t see Yzerman leaving a team that’s going to be elite for the next half-decade (at least) to have every move micro-analyzed by the media.

Is it possible that Yzerman may return one day? Sure, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

 

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.

9 thoughts on “In which the “Yzerman back to Detroit” topic is discussed again”

  1. Vinik has stated he intends to resign Stevie,Yzermans wife hated Detroit

  2. Will never, ever happen. Kenny was asked to step aside and refused. Biggest mistake of Illitch’s time as an owner was asking that question, rather than telling.

  3. Coming back is a no win situation. The expectations will be totally unreasonable. Anything less than multiple Stanley Cups would be viewed as a failure by fans and the media. I fully agree with FS, letting Yzerman leave in the first place was a huge blunder. And as George mentioned, he has a good thing going in Tampa. It’d be dumb to walk away from that.

    1. It is fun to speculate what we might look like today had Yzerman stayed. He’s demonstrated a few traits in Tampa that are totally opposite of Kenny’s approach.

      1) Used a compliance buyout on Lecavalier. Face of the franchise. Cup winner. And Yzerman didn’t hesitate to make him go away. Maybe he would have used that on Franzen? Kronwall? Ericsson? Kenny used his to erase the final year of Colaiacovo and Tootoo. So totally wasted his buyouts on contracts that weren’t lengthy or crippling.

      2) Traded Marty St.Louis. Another face of the franchise. Yzerman dumped him as soon as the relationship soured to add future assets. So maybe when Datsyuk pushes for a term you don’t like, Yzerman might have turned around and traded him?

      3) Playing kids. Absolutely no hesitation by Yzerman to put young players in key roles, and then turn around and trade veterans to make room for them. Vasilevsky looks ready. Bishop traded. Point looks ready. Filppula traded. Etc…No over-ripening nonsense with Yzerman. No hand shake deals with Cleary.

      4) Drafting skill. Since the moment Yzerman arrived he used the draft to focus on skill. He wasn’t deterred by the Russian factor. He wasn’t deterred by lack of size. So he got steals like Kucherov, Point, Namestnikov, Cirelli.

      5) Blockbusters. He had no hesitation to trade Drouin for Sergachev. That took guts. Then paid a steep price for McDonough and Miller, including trading away a key young forward in Namestnikov. When was the last time Kenny acquired anyone comparable to a Sergachev, McDonough, or Miller via trade?

      I really think this roster would look vastly better if Yzerman were calling the shots over the last 6-7 years. Sad.

      1. You nailed it. Yzerman has done a fine job of keeping key players in place while cycling out expendable players. This is a concept that Holland and the Wings have failed to execute.

  4. If I was Stevie Y (in my dreams) I wouldn’t leave the franchise he has turned into , a want to go to, for some players.

    Last night during a game, someone mentioned during a game, that Stevie why inside had no problem letting Drouin go. He has Brayden Point coming along. Sure has looked good!! I feel that Stevie Y makes very few long and short term decisions.

    The man is a quiet Hockey genius, JMO

    His challenge is keeping Tampa a Cup contender for many years

    1. Traded Drouin and Filppula and Boyle because he had Point, Gourde, and Cirelli ready. Traded Bishop because Vasilevsky was ready. No different than when he sent veterans packing to make room for young Palat and Tyler Johnson. No ripening nonsense. No hesitation to make bold moves. Many of those trades also helped keep his cap manageable. Genius.

      1. Yes he traded them before their value went south, maybe he somehow knew they were ready?

        No idea how he does it all, Happy for a Great Ex Wing!

        Funny they pushed the Bruins aside and Stamkos wasn’t a big factor. Fantastic Depth!

    2. Stevie Y makes very few Long and Short Term ..BAD>> Decisions.

      Another typo , Damn!!

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