Both MLive’s Ansar Khan and the Free Press’s Helene St. James discuss Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s managerial moves this morning.
Khan deems the Red Wings to be an offseason “winner” due to their machinations…
General manager Steve Yzerman moved out several players who might not appear in another NHL game and signed five free agents (forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Bobby Ryan, defensemen Troy Stecher and Jon Merrill and goaltender Thomas Greiss) to reasonable, short-term deals. He utilized his ample cap space to acquire a serviceable defenseman (Marc Staal) and second-round pick. The Red Wings will still be at or near the NHL’s basement, but they improved in all areas. They also are set-up to acquire additional draft picks at the trade deadline by moving some of these players and others.
And the Free Press’s St. James issues 18 Thoughts regarding the 18 months that Yzerman has been the team’s general manager (in a subscriber-only article):
8. Fab Fabbri: Yzerman’s best trade was flipping Jacob de la Rose, a 2018 waiver-wire pickup, to St. Louis for former first-round pick Robby Fabbri. The ex-Blues forward has offensive skills (31 points in 52 games) and provided a much-needed booster shot. Signed to a two-year contract, he looks like he’ll be a solid contributor to the rebuild.
9. Depth charge: Only having one effective line on offense was among the many things that hurt the Wings in 2019-20. Injuries to Mantha (28 games), Andreas Athanasiou (17) and Filip Zadina (17) limited coach Jeff Blashill’s options because the Wings had no depth. Yzerman addressed the dearth of effective forwards by signing Vladislav Namestnikov (2 years, $4 million) and Bobby Ryan (1 year, $1 million). Those two, along with Mantha, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, Zadina and Dylan Larkin give the Wings good options for the top six and beyond.
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14. Nik’s knack: The 13th [player who did not return from the 2019-2020 roster] is Niklas Kronwall, who retired and immediately joined the front office, watching games from the GM’s suite at Little Caesars Arena. Former teammates took to calling him “Corporate Kronwall.”
St. James continues (paywall)…
