Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman spoke with the media after the conclusion of day 2 of the 2022 NHL Draft on Friday…
And, as Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff notes, Yzerman made an intriguing comment regarding his attempts to make more changes happen at the draft:
“We’re chipping away at things,” Yzerman acknowledged. “Without elaborating, there was one or two more things I was hoping to accomplish that we weren’t able to do but overall, we’re all excited. We just finished the draft and hopefully some of these kids turn into players.”
Turning his lament into hopefulness, Yzerman was maintaining a belief that the book isn’t closed on those other moves he was seeking out.
“No,” he said. “We’ll just keep working at things.”
The Athletic’s Max Bultman pondered Yzerman’s remarks:
It’s impossible not to wonder what those mysterious moves that didn’t happen could have been. Matt Murray’s contract never ended up getting moved out of Ottawa, after the netminder reportedly blocked a trade to Buffalo in what would have assuredly been a cap dump. One would think Vegas still has some money to shed (or something else to figure out with Nic Hague and Nicolas Roy). The Jesse Puljujarvi situation is still unsettled. Perhaps Detroit just wanted more picks for the war chest.
Any of those could, in theory, still be in play. Even with Detroit’s net now full, acquiring and buying out Murray could even be palatable for the right price.
Of course, we’ll never know what specifically Yzerman was referring to. But the offseason’s a long way from over just yet.
As the Free Press’s Helene St. James noted, Wings coach Derek Lalonde hinted that there’s more to come after the Wings hired Bob Boughner as an associate coach and Alex Westlund as the team’s goaltending coach:
New head coach Derek Lalonde was thrilled about the addition of Boughner, a former NHL defenseman (he was drafted by the Wings in 1989) who also has NHL head coaching experience.
“We feel very fortunate,” Lalonde said. “Steve and my priority was an experienced D guy. I preferred somebody that played, I think it’s very valuable that he played in the league, and he’s coached a lot in the league. He’s coached a Norris Trophy winner, coached Stanley Cup winners. He’s a huge piece. I’m ecstatic. What makes me more excited is, he probably had other options. He liked where our young D corps is and being part of developing them. It’s a pretty exciting hire for us.”
Lalonde did his homework on Boughner before making the hire, but really, a phone all with Peter DeBoer, a friend and experienced NHL head coach, sealed the decision.
“I talked to Pete DeBoer about him, and I felt like Pete wanted to put his hand through the phone to slap me me to hire him ASAP, that’s how strongly he felt about him as a coach and how strongly he felt he’d be a really good fit for us,” Lalonde said.
All in all, it was a productive few days. The Wings still have needs — and Lalonde said they might hire another assistant coach — that will most likely be addressed when free agency begins Wednesday July 13, but the group that will take to the ice and the bench come fall is taking shape.
