The Athletic’s Max Bultman wraps up a couple blog entries dedicated to the Red Wings media corps’ assessments of Detroit’s free agency moves with a thoughtful column regarding the direction of the team:
Make no mistake, even on a day the Red Wings signed five players in free agency — including at least three likely to play in the top half of their lineup — Yzerman didn’t abandon his first principles as Detroit continues to rebuild. But after signing Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot, Olli Määtä and Dominik Kubalik, it’s clear the Red Wings aren’t sitting around waiting, either. Detroit made big plays at free agency’s opening bell and now may actually have the pieces to turn a real corner under new head coach Derek Lalonde.
“It’s well known around the league that it’s a young, up-and-coming team,” Chiarot said Wednesday afternoon, explaining his interest in Detroit. “I think today, with all the additions that the team made, it just makes it an even more exciting team. Steve Yzerman builds good teams. I think everyone knows that.”
That wasn’t the only reference to Yzerman’s importance. Perron mentioned how getting a call from Yzerman “catches your attention right away.” After Yzerman’s storied career as a player, and more recently, success building the foundation for a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion in Tampa, it’s easy to understand why.
So far in Detroit, though, Yzerman’s team-building process has been rather slow and methodical. Even last summer, when Yzerman traded for Alex Nedeljkovic and Nick Leddy, the pushes have been incremental at best.
And make no mistake: Wednesday’s moves don’t make the Red Wings instant favorites for the playoffs next season. But this also wasn’t just adding at the margins.
Continued (paywall)
